Trump signals interest in influencing Federal Reserve decisions if he regains White House

[August 09, 2024]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that U.S. presidents should have a say over decisions made by the Federal Reserve, the most explicit indication so far of his interest in infringing on the central bank's independence should he regain the White House.

"I feel the president should have at least (a) say in there," the former president told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. "I think that in my case, I made a lot of money, I was very successful, and I think I have a better instinct than in many cases, people that would be on the Federal Reserve or the chairman."

Trump allies have drafted proposals that would attempt to erode the Fed's independence if he wins, the Wall Street Journal reported in April. The Trump campaign distanced itself from the report at the time.

But his remarks on Thursday indicate he is squarely aligned with one of the proposals' main thrusts: If he becomes president, Trump should be consulted on interest rate decisions, and Fed banking regulation proposals should be subject to White House review.

The Fed chair and the other six members of its board of governors are nominated by the president, subject to confirmation by the Senate. But the Fed enjoys substantial operational independence to make policy decisions that wield tremendous influence over the direction of the world's largest economy and global asset markets.

Among the pegs supporting the U.S. dollar's stature as the world's reserve currency, for instance, is the Fed's ability to set monetary policy on its own without political oversight. That status in turn is key to granting the U.S. government a nearly unchecked ability to borrow on global bond markets at relatively low interest rates despite having a $35 trillion debt load, dubbed the "exorbitant privilege."

'FOUGHT HIM VERY HARD'

The next president - Trump or Democratic candidate Kamala Harris - will have a chance to select the next Fed chair within the first two years of their term.

One path for intruding on the Fed's independence would be to select - and win confirmation for - a nominee willing to be compliant with Trump's wishes to hold sway over the central bank.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

Economists worry that could result in the type of policy missteps that occurred in the early 1970s, when Fed Chairman Arthur Burns was pressured by President Richard Nixon - who had appointed him - to maintain expansionary monetary policy ahead of the 1972 election despite evidence of inflationary pressures building.

By 1974, inflation was running above 12% and would remain a persistent problem for the next decade until it was brought under control by Fed Chairman Paul Volcker through crushing interest rate increases that caused two recessions in the early 1980s.

Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term as chief expires in 2026, while his seat on the Fed board expires in 2028.

Powell was first appointed to the Fed board by former President Barack Obama, but it was Trump who picked him to lead the central bank, a post Powell assumed in early 2018.

Trump turned against him soon after, railing against the interest rate hikes that the Fed delivered during Powell's first year at the helm.

"I used to have it out with him, I had it out with him a couple of times very strongly," Trump said in his remarks on Thursday. "I fought him very hard."

Indeed, Trump went so far as to discuss firing the Fed chief, although Mick Mulvaney - a former chief of staff to the president - later said Trump came to the conclusion that he likely did not have the power to do so.

That did not stop Trump from continuing to threaten Powell throughout his presidency, a practice President Joe Biden, Trump's successor, has refrained from during his term.

In a Bloomberg interview published last month, Trump said he would not try to oust Powell if he becomes president.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Dan Burns; Editing by Ross Colvin and Jamie Freed)

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