(Reuters] – Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has pledged to combat inflation at Tuesday’s congressional hearing. This will be a time when fast-rising U.S. costs will likely spark plenty lawmaker criticism and questions.

Powell is scheduled to appear before Senate Banking Committee on Thursday at 10:00 ET in order for the committee to consider a second four-year term of office as Fed chief. On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee will ask Lael brainard, Fed governor currently, questions regarding his promotion to a 4-year term as Fed vice chairman.

All positions need to be approved by the Senate in majority, which is controlled narrowly by President Joe Biden and his Democrats.

Powell spoke in prepared remarks that he would deliver at the hearing. He noted how the fast pace of recovery was despite the continuing pandemic. This has led to persistent supply-demand imbalances and bottlenecks and elevated inflation.

“We recognize that high inflation is costly,” he said. He pledged to utilize all of the policy tools available to him at the central bank “to stop higher inflation becoming entrenched.”

After nearly two years fighting the economic downturn of the pandemic, the Fed made a decision to stop purchasing Treasuries, mortgage-backed Securities, in December. The Fed signaled that it may raise rates up to three times this calendar year.

COVID-19-related infections have increased to daily records. Hospitalizations are rising, quarantining workers is taking a toll on an already limited labor supply. Some observers predict that this will intensify the downward pressure on prices.

Powell’s Tuesday hearing will mark his first public appearance to discuss how disruptions affect him and his outlook on the economy.

Investors and traders will be listening for new clues on when the Fed may begin raising interest rates https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds-bullard-says-first-interest-rate-hike-could-be-march-2022-01-06 and possibly reduce its more than $8 trillion in bond holdings to bring down inflation, now running more than twice the Fed’s 2% target.

The financial markets have responded aggressively to the threat of interest rate rises, and interest rate futures traders are betting that there will be four.

Some Democrats may ask Powell tough questions, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, who said that she opposed his renomination due to her view of him being too easy on Wall Street. Others will be asking Powell hard questions from Republicans, who publicly worry about the Fed’s inability to respond quickly enough to rising prices.