Current and former policymakers are warning that any attempt by Donald Trump to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve in his second term as US president would destabilise the world’s largest economy and global financial markets.
In his first presidency, Trump turned on Jay Powell, who he nominated in 2017 to lead the US central bank, branding the chair “clueless” and an “enemy” for resisting his calls for lower interest rates. He toyed with firing or demoting Powell but faced resistance from his advisers given the legal limits on such a move.
Those threats resurfaced on the campaign trail as Trump mused that he wanted a more direct say in monetary policy decisions.