This Fed-Treasury Public Fight Has No Winners
The coronavirus crisis dream team of Jerome Powell and Steven Mnuchin cracks after the election.
So much for the buddy system.
Photographer: Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg
So much for the synergy between Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in combating the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
In what might be an unprecedented public spat between two of the nation’s most prominent economic leaders, Mnuchin sent a letter to Powell on Thursday that said he would let certain emergency lending facilities created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act expire on Dec. 31, citing what he saw as “congressional intent.” Moreover, he requested that the Fed return almost $200 billion of unused funds to the Treasury, which would “allow Congress to re-appropriate $455 billion, consisting of $429 billion in excess Treasury funds for the Federal Reserve facilities and $26 billion in unused Treasury direct loan funds.”