Bill Dudley, Columnist

Could Trump Take Over the Fed? It’s a Scary Thought

It's not easy for a single president to undermine the central bank’s independence, but the mere attempt can do a lot of damage.

May 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM UTC

By Bill Dudley

Bill Dudley is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he is a member of Coinbase Global's advisory council.

Eyes on the prize.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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The prospect of Donald Trump returning to the US presidency is generating concerned speculation: What if he exerts more control over the Federal Reserve, undermining the independence that has been crucial to containing inflation and to keeping the world’s largest economy on an even keel?

It wouldn’t be easy. That said, it’s a truly frightening prospect.