The central bank used those powers extensively during the 2008 crisis, including to support politically unpopular bailouts of financial firms. Congress subsequently amended the Fed’s powers so that it would need Treasury’s blessing to roll out new emergency loan programs or to materially change existing ones. The 2020 emergency loan programs have been way more expansive. Most lawmakers agreed that the Fed and Treasury had done a good job reopening credit markets and protecting the economy. He said he was worried that the Fed might overstep its boundaries and replace private lenders.

Source: New York Times December 19, 2020 00:11 UTC