Trump’s Fed Grab Shakes the Foundation of Global Finance
The president is defying a consensus that powerful finance levers should be kept away from politicians as he seeks to take America’s monetary reins.
President Donald Trump is attempting to remodel the Federal Reserve, raising concerns about increasing partisan influence over monetary policy.
Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesDonald Trump’s fight with the Federal Reserve entered uncharted territory this week. Whoever wins, the damage to an institution at the heart of the US economy — and the world’s financial markets — will be hard to undo.
The president’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook is unprecedented, and it’s now headed into the courts. Trump wants to bend US monetary policy to his will and wrest control over the most powerful levers of global finance. In the process he’s defying a near-universal consensus that they’re best kept away from politicians’ hands.