How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve

A widely held view of the modern Federal Reserve holds that the Fed independently crafts U.S. monetary policy, free from short-term political interference.

But if you look at the political and economic catalysts that fueled the Fed’s development over its first century, and concentrate on Congress’s relationship with the central bank, it’s clear that this independence is a myth. At best, the Federal Reserve earns partial and contingent independence from Congress -- and thus barely any independence at all.