Senate Confirms Powell For 2nd Term As Fed Fights Inflation

Powell faces a difficult and risky task in trying to quell inflation without weakening the economy so much as to cause a recession.

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as Federal Reserve chair, giving bipartisan backing to Powell's high-stakes efforts to curb the highest inflation in four decades.

The 80-19 vote reflected broad support in Congress for the Fed's drive to combat surging prices through a series of sharp interest rate hikes that could extend well into next year. The Fed's goal is to slow borrowing and spending enough to ease the inflation pressures.

Since February, when his first term expired, Powell had been leading the central bank in a temporary capacity.