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Fed’s 2015 Records Show Yellen Misjudged Room for Job Gains

  • Transcripts shed light on debate preceding 2015 rate hike
  • Brainard raised concerns about inflation leg of Fed’s mandate
Janet Yellen holds a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16, 2015. 

Janet Yellen holds a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16, 2015. 

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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Transcripts of the Federal Reserve’s 2015 policy meetings show that then-Fed Chair Janet Yellen acknowledged the Fed should sacrifice potential job gains in order to cut off the possibility of higher inflation.

Yellen, who left the Fed in 2018, has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the Treasury Department and hold one of the most powerful economic policy positions in his administration, pending her confirmation by the U.S. Senate.