Why Powell Couldn’t Have Rigged 2024 If He’d Tried
Even if you think that the Fed attempts to swing elections, it’s just about impossible.
Trump insisted during the election campaign that the Fed was biased against him.
Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty
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The next chairman of the Federal Reserve should “stay out of elected politics.” So said someone who should know, incumbent Jerome Powell, making a strenuous case for central bank independence this week as the clock ticked down to President Donald Trump naming his successor.
That raised critical questions. Has Powell himself managed to do this? And is it possible or even desirable for any holder of that job to keep totally clear of politics? Pending Senate confirmation, the burden of answering would next fall upon former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, whom Trump said in a post Friday on Truth Social that he intends to nominate.