In the long history of US central banking, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stands out as a hero. His speech at this year’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium was focused and disciplined, demonstrating solid command of analytics and well-reasoned judgment in shaping monetary policy. And he managed all of this while facing unprecedented political pressure from US President Donald Trump that has since metastasiaed into an attempted firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

As a fierce defender of the Fed’s long standing independence, Powell is worthy of joining Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan in the P...