President Joe Biden on Tuesday agreed to a proposal by Democratic lawmakers to limit or phase out stimulus payments to higher-income individuals as part of his administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
Wall Street's main indexes have scaled a series of all-time peaks recently, with investors moving into sectors such as energy.
And it will be up to Janet Yellen, Powell's predecessor as Fed chief who is now Biden's Treasury secretary, to take up the lead in pushing that stimulus package through Congress.
Powell has said that making sure the financial system is “resilient” against risks, including climate change, fits with the Fed’s congressionally assigned mandates.