Fmr. Obama Economist Calls on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to Step Down

EXCERPT:

SMITH: “First up, some might be shocked to hear that Obama economist is siding with President Trump on this issue and you are now calling for Jerome Powell to step down. Why?”

EL-ERIAN: “I am. I’ve been critical of Chair Powell for a while. He made a major policy mistake that saw inflation go up to 9 percent. We had supervision of banks problems, there were insider trading allegations to his committee, there’s mission creep, the list goes on. I think that Chair Powell has decided to redefine his legacy in terms of protecting the independence of the Fed, but by staying on is actually threatening the independence of the Fed. So, those of us who believe that an independent central bank is critical to economic outcomes think that the right thing for him to do is to step down.”