Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen probably won’t drop a heavy hint on the timing of the next interest-rate increase when she speaks to Congress this week, but expect her to defend post-crisis banking rules the Trump administration has sworn to undo.
Yellen’s semi-annual testimony to lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday will be her first such performance since Donald Trump became president, a shift in power that may expose the U.S. central bank to deep changes favored by some in his Republican party, which remains in control of both houses of Congress. The hearings could also serve to shed light on where the Senate Banking Committee’s new chair, Idaho Republican Michael Crapo, stands on proposed changes to the central bank’s authority and structure.
