Mnuchin’s Partnership With Powell Blurs Lines Between Fed and Treasury

  • Treasury, Federal Reserve blur lines between responsibilities
  • ‘Fiscal dominance’ may lead to crises, former official says
Jerome Powell, left, and Steven Mnuchin.Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has forged a crisis partnership with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, giving the central bank a bigger role in U.S. fiscal policy and blurring the lines between the agencies as they unleash $4.5 trillion in stimulus to combat the coronavirus.

Mnuchin and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell work together on the coronavirus rescue “round the clock,” according to the Treasury secretary. Already, the 106-year-old central bank is lending directly to main street businesses for the first time since the Great Depression.