What to expect from the Jerome Powell era at the Federal Reserve

Jerome Powell won’t run the Federal Reserve too differently than Janet Yellen would have. But, because he is not her and was not President Barack Obama’s nominee, he will start a four-year term as Fed chairman Monday while she begins as a think tanker at the Brookings Institution.

Because he’s not Yellen, Powell not only has the endorsement of President Trump, but also the support of most Republican senators. That support could help him through difficult economic scenarios in the years ahead.

Otherwise, though, he’s mostly expected to carry out policy as Yellen would have.

In fact, Yellen is leaving Powell a Fed that is largely on autopilot for the next year or so, having charted its course away from the emergency crisis-era measures that former Chairman Ben Bernanke put in place.

Over this year and next, the Fed is expected to continue gradually raising interest rates back toward more “normal” levels. Meanwhile, it will allow its swollen balance sheet to shrink month by month, by not rolling over some of the proceeds from its massive bond holdings. Those plans were put into place without major disruptions by Yellen.