U.S. Treasury chief: No need for Fed’s Powell to step down right now

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — There is no need for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to immediately step down, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday, adding that the Fed chief’s legacy should be to right-size the central bank’s non-monetary policy functions.

Bessent’s comments in an interview on Fox Business Network come a day after he called on the U.S. central bank to conduct an exhaustive review of non-policy areas of operations.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )