Powell Farewell Countdown: From 'Unconventional Chair' to Crisis 'Firefighter,' Leaving Behind a Dual Legacy of High Inflation and Soft Landing

BlockBeats News, May 9th, Powell will officially step down as Federal Reserve Chair on May 15th. This "atypical" central bank leader, who does not have an economics background, has experienced the impact of the pandemic, the most severe inflation in 40 years, an aggressive Fed rate hike cycle, and a political storm surrounding central bank independence over the past eight years.

During the early part of his tenure, Powell continued the path of gradual rate hikes and balance sheet reduction. After the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, he led the implementation of a combination of "zero interest rates + unlimited QE + emergency lending facilities," swiftly stabilizing market liquidity, preventing a deep recession in the U.S. economy, and driving a subsequent V-shaped recovery.

However, as the U.S. economy reopened and fiscal stimulus was unleashed, Powell and the Fed had previously viewed inflation as "transitory," which was seen as the biggest policy mistake during his tenure. In 2022, the U.S. CPI surged to 9.1%, reaching a 40-year high. Subsequently, the Fed initiated the most aggressive rate hike cycle since the 1980s, raising interest rates 11 times to 5.25%-5.5%.

Although the tightening cycle briefly raised concerns in the market about a recession, the U.S. ultimately managed to control inflation without a severe economic downturn, seen by the outside world as a "soft landing." Data shows that the year-on-year increase in U.S. CPI has significantly retreated from the peak in 2022, while the job market has remained relatively resilient.

In addition to monetary policy, another core issue during Powell's tenure was to uphold the Fed's independence. He has long faced public pressure and interest rate cut demands from the Trump administration, and even encountered a criminal investigation related to a Fed renovation project in 2026, prompting rare joint statements of support from central banks of multiple countries around the world.