Should the President Have a Say in Fed Decisions?

Donald Trump's suggestions that presidents should influence Federal Reserve monetary policy has fueled a spirited debate across opinion sections over what would be a significant departure from the Fed's traditional independence. Some have defended the suggestion, but many across the bias spectrum have criticized it.

The Timeline:

• August 9 — "I feel the president should have at least a say in there. I feel that strongly," Trump said at a press conference, according to CNN (Lean Left bias). "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."
• August 19 — “A president certainly can be talking about interest rates because I think I have very good instincts,” Trump told Bloomberg (Lean Left). “That doesn’t mean I’m calling the shot, but it does mean that I should have a right to be able to talk about it like anybody else.”
• August 21 — Forbes (Center) reported that, during his presidency, Trump was upset with Fed Chair Jerome Powell raising interest rates and told his Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, "Please call this idiot and explain to him that I will repudiate his nomination, even though he has been confirmed."

From the Center: On the day of Trump's original comment, John Rapley (not rated) wrote an opinion for Unherd (Center) which compared Trump's intention to British prime Minister Liz Truss' interference with the Bank of England before she resigned over a collapsed economy. Rapley also cited President Richard Nixon's pressuring of Fed Chair Paul Volcker to keep rates low as a factor in the pervasive inflation of the 1970s. "The pot might not boil immediately," he wrote. "Nevertheless the water in which the proverbial frog sat would likely keep getting hotter until the US got its next Volcker moment. Trump’s best hope would be to have finished his term before then."

From the Right: A few days after Trump's original comment, the Wall Street Journal Opinion (Lean Right) editorial board wrote that Trump is right that "the Fed is far from infallible, and a debate over its mandate from Congress and monetary models would be healthy." The board listed complaints with the current Fed, including too-slow rate changes, having the wrong priorities, and regulatory overreach. In contrast, on August 21, Kevin D. Williamson (not rated) wrote for The Dispatch (Lean Right) that institutions like the Fed "work pretty well" and Trump's suggestion is "precisely the wrong way to go."

From the Left: After Trump's second comment walking back his first, Jordan Weissman (not rated) wrote for the Atlantic (Left bias) that a second Trump term "would very likely be accompanied by a more accommodating Republican Senate majority. If Trump wins in November, we may learn the hard way just how important Fed independence was all along."