How will Jerome Powell be remembered as he exits as Fed chair?

After steering the Federal Reserve through a series of major economic shocks, from the pandemic to the highest inflation in 40 years, Jerome Powell will leave a legacy defined by managing crisis and an unwavering defense of the central bank's historical independence. As Powell steps down on Friday after eight years as Fed chair, more than a dozen economists interviewed by CBS News credited his measured, pragmatic leadership for helping guide the economy through a turbulent period. Powell's tenure may be best remembered for his commitment to the Fed's independence as he faced legal threats and intense pressure from President Trump to lower interest rates. "His enduring legacy will be that he protected the Fed's independence at a time of unprecedented challenges," said David Wessel, senior fellow in economic studies at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution and the author of "In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic." Powell's leadership assured "the American people that there was an adult of integrity in charge of the world's most powerful economic institution," Wessel added. Under Powell's leadership, the Fed performed "an admirable job of managing monetary policy through a tumultuous period, more or less achieving its dual mandate," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said. …