Powell hears bipartisan Senate support for Fed independence
WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic senators voiced strong support for an independent Federal Reserve during a hearing with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, one day after President Donald Trump launched another Twitter attack directed at Powell.
“Stay independent,” Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, told Powell during Wednesday’s hearing. “I think you’re doing a great job. All of us in politics are going to give you advice, but call ’em as you see ’em.”
The support from members of the Senate Banking Committee suggests Trump’s attacks on Powell and the Fed have found little traction. Powell has made numerous visits to Senate and House members’ offices since being appointed chairman by Trump in February 2018.
Trump has called Fed officials “boneheads” and argued that the central bank should cut interest rates further. The Fed’s benchmark rate is currently in a historically low range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent.
Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat from Virginia, said that many other government institutions are “under assault” from the Trump administration, citing White House attacks on intelligence agencies and turmoil at the Justice Department over the prosecution of Trump’s associate Roger Stone. Warner said that if Powell were to “see any efforts made to undermine the Fed’s independence that you make us aware of that.”
“The Fed’s independence is more important than ever at this point,” Warner added. The comments came on the second day of Powell’s semiannual appearance before Congress. On Tuesday, he testified before the House Financial Services Committee.
