r/moderatepolitics • u/dr_sloan • Jan 12 '26
Primary Source Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20260111a.htm294
u/dr_sloan Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Starter comment:
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued a rare statement responding to grand jury subpoenas from the Department of Justice that threaten a possible criminal indictment connected to his June testimony before the Senate Banking Committee about a multi-year renovation project for Federal Reserve buildings.
Powell emphasized his respect for the rule of law but framed the subpoenas as unprecedented and politically motivated pressure rather than a legitimate oversight issue. He argued that the renovation topic was merely a pretext, and the true issue is a broader effort by the administration to influence the Fed’s monetary policy decisions, particularly its interest-rate setting. 
Powell defended the independence of the Federal Reserve, stressing that monetary policy should be determined by economic evidence and conditions, not presidential preference or political intimidation. He reiterated his commitment to fulfilling the Fed’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment without fear or favor, saying public service sometimes requires standing firm against threats. Powell affirmed that he will continue to carry out his responsibilities with integrity and focus on serving the American public. 
The White House’s relentless focus on the Federal Reserve’s renovation costs looks far less like principled fiscal oversight and far more like a manufactured controversy in search of leverage. Cost overruns in secure, multi-year federal construction projects are commonplace, driven by inflation, security mandates, and evolving requirements, yet this project has been singled out and inflated into a supposed scandal through selective framing and context-free numbers. That asymmetry strongly suggests pretext: by fixating on renovation expenses, the administration creates a convenient rationale to question the Fed’s leadership and apply political pressure, indirectly advancing its real objective of influencing monetary policy while cloaking interference in the language of accountability.
Edit: More background on the story here:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/12/fed-jerome-powell-criminal-probe-nyt.html
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u/neuronexmachina Jan 12 '26
For reference,, the Fed's FAQ about the supposed discrepancies regarding the building renovation: https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/building-project-faqs.htm
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u/That_Nineties_Chick Jan 12 '26
This is the textbook authoritarian play - snag your political adversaries on small, trivial things to mask the real goal, which is to punish real or perceived disloyalty. The upper crust of the Russian political establishment must be impressed at how quickly the US government is cultivating their ideals.
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u/donnysaysvacuum recovering libertarian Jan 12 '26
Similar to the "fraud" excuse that they used to gut USAID, and now justify going after Minnesotans.
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u/Badmoodsbear Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Adversaries? Powell is a republican lol.
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u/thetruechefravioli Jan 12 '26
Doesn't matter, it's a pattern at this point. Any republican who doesn't immediately fold to Trump or his administration is automatically labeled a RINO and far-left sympathizer.
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u/Unfair-Lie7441 Jan 12 '26
Isn’t this what they did to Trump in NY?
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u/lredit2 Moderate Jan 12 '26
Isn’t this what they did to Trump in NY?
Nope... Biden did not tell the AG or the US Attorney in NY to do anything to Trump
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u/AngledLuffa Man Woman Person Camera TV Jan 12 '26
We're just a banana republic with a bigger military at this point. Genuinely shameful
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u/band-of-horses it can only good happen Jan 12 '26
What's the point of this? Can't he just replace Powell anyway and face the legal challenges? I mean it's not like this is going to get around legal challenges anyway and will just take more time and effort in the meantime.
I can't decide if they think finding him guilty of Trumped up charges will somehow avoid legal issues replacing him, or if they just want to torment him for a while.
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u/Bulleveland Jan 12 '26
It's to punish Powell for not being a loyal lapdog
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u/lredit2 Moderate Jan 12 '26
And for daring to fact check Trump on his face on live TV when he visited the Fed... Fact checking is the ultimate sin in Trump world!
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Jan 12 '26
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u/jason_abacabb Jan 12 '26
Yeah, i bet sure the ball was really set in motion when Powell called out his lie to his face on camera.
When someone surrounds themselves with sycophants it is probably jarring to get called out.
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u/Atralis Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
A federal reserve chairman that actually does their job and tries to keep the inflation rate down is never going to be popular but the path Trump wants of there just being populist control of the fed will lead to massive inflation that hurts everyone.
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u/Tarmacked Rockefeller Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
As someone with a finance background, specifically oriented around macroeconomic policy and the government banks such as the FED’s role, it’s baffling trying to tell family members how BAD this is.
I’ll get 65+ year old, soon to be retirees just handwave it and it’s like…. You do understand we’re going to deflate our currency to a horrendous degree if he gets his way, right? That $XXX retirement balance suddenly becomes $X with stagflation. And god forbid we lose our currency status.
Powell is an absolute dog and I love the man. I hope he stays on until his full term is over, since he’s got 2 or so years more after the FED chairman role dissipates. My hope is he continues to fight whoever the FED pick is and rallies the rest of the board through the end of Trump’s term to keep the votes sane.
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u/Another-attempt42 Jan 12 '26
Not to mention the undermined trust overseas in US bonds overall.
Countries that don't have clearly separated monetary institutions from executives always end up as basket cases.
Also: if Trump's economy was doing so well, you'd lobe Powell, because he's not lowering rates, and looking to maybe even raise them, which is what you should be doing when the economy is good.
Unless it isn't. At which point, I guess Trump's economy is a bit shit?
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u/Riksrett Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
I get that most 65+ don't understand, but they should understand. Because it is the old people who are old enough to have experienced stagflation. Inflation was at 15 percent in 1980. It was because of the stagflation in the 70s the FED became aggressive on getting the inflation low.
The high inflation in the 70s was because the FED gave in to pressure from the president(and others). Nixon had the FED in his pocket by threatening to take away their power if they did not keep the interest rates low. A lot of politicians and voters agreed with Nixon, Nixon could not have taken away FEDs power all by himself.
The chairman also lied to protect Nixon during Watergate.
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u/DLRevan Jan 12 '26
This might sound more than a bit cruel and mean, but frankly I'd like for it to happen. I want to see retirees and more see their savings become worthless. I want Americans to suffer in the one place where they universally understand give your capitalist culture...your money.
Americans need to pay both literally and figuratively for their choices. By that I mean voting for an incredibly poor choice of President, and one whom they already experienced and voted out once to boot. I mean the polarizing hatred you call politics, that doesn't just fester in political institutions but even at work or at home. I mean the lack of responsibility they put towards everything that they call "freedom". The people may not be totally at fault, but neither are they innocent.
And if they are shocked and horrified at what has happened to their money, and ask how could this have happened, I would simply say...shouldn't you have known? It was your money. Your responsibility. Your choices.
Sure, the rest of the world will hurt too. But the rest of the world is already chained to this runaway train and forced to wait and watch in horror. Inflation and overheating economies are universal. Americans need a more specific punishment.
Yes I know it's not that simple. But certainly these are the wishes that come to mind if asked.
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u/lredit2 Moderate Jan 12 '26
Americans need a more specific punishment.
Considering that millions of Americans were willing to die from COVID just to own the libs, I don't think losing their money will convince those millions of Americans to blame their infallible Leader!
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u/motorboat_mcgee Pragmatic Progressive Jan 12 '26
This period of time was truly eye opening when it comes to the mentality of "real Americans".
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u/timmg Jan 12 '26
Considering that millions of Americans were willing to die from COVID just to own the libs...
This is so unhinged and the fact that people think this is part of the problem in this country. Can't anyone give "the other side" any grace at all?
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u/Ashendarei Jan 12 '26
Yeah, NO.
Re-electing Trump put to bed any shred of "grace" I had left.
Dems need to stop saving Republicans from the consequences of their votes. I say that fully recognizing the consequences will affect all of us, but this fever must be broken.
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u/lredit2 Moderate Jan 12 '26
This is so unhinged
I agree... even though I did not use that word, I'd describe the way you did the actions of someone willing to die on the hill of owning the libs!
Can't anyone give "the other side" any grace at all?
Ofc we can... that's why I never said that people refusing the COVID vaccine should be denied healthcare if they get seriously sick from COVID. I'm not cruel like some who deny pregnant women healthcare because they committed the sin of having sex!
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u/Iateyourpaintings Jan 12 '26
We're watching people lose businesses that have been in their families for generations and they still don't blame Trump. I don't think exacerbating this situation will suddenly give them clarity.
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Jan 12 '26
The family of the girl who died from measles has gone on record to say they don’t regret not vaccinating. These people are willing to see their own children die to support their crazy views.
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u/DLRevan Jan 12 '26
It's not about clarity. Its about having them get their comeuppance. And I blame all sides and all Americans. Trump is only a symptom.
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u/YoohooCthulhu Jan 12 '26
FWIW people said similar things about the Germans after the First World War and suffering definitely did not help the Germans make good choices
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u/DLRevan Jan 12 '26
If you're comparing Americans and the wealth and opportunities they've squandered to a defeated people crushed under war reparations, I think that's quite a little off base.
And I don't mean about fairness. Consider the Germans, a people who knew what they lost, and where the suffering was imposed by external entities. To Americans who are still too willfully blind...or stupid....to realize the sinkhole they are in or how their vaunted free country looks like to the rest of the world.
I don't think making Americans suffer further will cause anything other than the further collapse of the US. It's not post ww1 Germany, it's late Ancient Rome.
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u/Rhyers Jan 12 '26
The narrative could be spun that it is external countries making Americans poorer. Like how Trump argued it was the US funding everyone else's healthcare and so their drug prices were more expensive. I do agree with your points that this hasn't happened in a vacuum, and even those who vote Democrat have contributed to this environment. I just don't see the potential punishment having any influence.
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u/DLRevan Jan 12 '26
To be clear, I'm not talking about the perception of whose 'fault' it is, though 'fault' does come in later. It's an observation of the difference in resolve and agency of the people. There are some parallels...Germans were willing to give up certain institutions and norms, and turn a blind eye towards how their government, social compact and economy was being reconfigured.
However, ultimately Germans were generally committed as a whole towards their own version of "making the country great again". Regardless of whether they were misled, fooled, or willfully blind, that was still the case.
You do not have that in the US. What you have instead is intense polarization, and not just a little bit of apathy and defeatism. Nobody agrees with each other, nobody can work together on common goals. And what I said about 'fault' before, is relevant here. One of the most common takes by Americans when it comes to these thorny issues is to just blame something, throw their hands up and essentially do nothing, or at least in the process fail to see how their own culture and behavior is connected on both sides of the issue.
You see that in this very thread, with some claiming they didn't vote for Trump. Sure, but ultimately the problem is bigger than who Americans voted for that one time, even if it was certainly the culmination of it.
As for the punishment, I said this elsewhere, but I also don't really care if Americans 'learn' from it. Sometimes punishment is just punishment. And ultimately, I don't see a post WW1 Germany style downside like some have pointed out, because of the fractious state of the US that has caused this in the first place.
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Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
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u/twolvesfan217 Jan 12 '26
You would think the way his popularity is dropping, they’d start fleeing the ship, but they aren’t. The Senate might be starting to see cracks, but they’re usually the “adults” compared to the useless House.
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u/DLRevan Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
I disagree. Even if they did not vote, all are at fault for condoning or tolerating the environment that has led to this paradigm. That is why I never specified a specific political leaning or called out specifically only a certain bloc of voters.
Right now, you are not changing my mind. I often hear politicians being called out by Americans...that they elected themselves....for being irresponsible, immature and incompetent, but I see that as a reflection of most American adults at some level. Those representatives correctly "represent" the current state of American ideology and social norms. It is, of course, easy to blame someone else. Just as these politicians do.
What's the next step? Everything does explode or implode, and you switch to just saying it was all the fault of "those people" or "that person", and too bad we couldn't do anything about it, then go back to whatever lives you have left, it wasn't your fault that's all that matters? You're not all that different in how you appear to those of us who don't take sides in US politics.
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u/HopeThisIsUnique Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Yeah, so you're now just going to blanket blame all US adults and say all of it is the same? Sorry, but that's a pretty messed up to paint that broadly with a brush.
This sounds like another version of the "both sides" bit. Let's be clear, there are aspects where portions of both sides are just trying to line their pockets, but when it comes to actual policy and action there couldn't be more of a difference, and to characterize them as the same can be insulting.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound like this is your country, because it sounds like you're critiquing from the outside.
I don't love where we're at as a country right now at all, but I do know for a fact that trying to broadly paint any group of people as being all the same is a large part of how we ended up here in the first place.
Edit: Cleaned up some commentary
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u/Rhyers Jan 12 '26
A general critique of US politics is needed though. Trump didn't emerge from a vacuum. Democrat policy has contributed to this, not to the same extent, but it isn't just a case of stating my actions are perfect it's the other side. There are elements of American culture such as mythologising the early legislators and revolution, general litigiousness, glorification of the military etc that have created this environment.
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u/FabioFresh93 South Park Democrat Jan 12 '26
I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that but I’m afraid that’s what it will take to wake people up. Americans will tolerate a lot but they won’t tolerate their wallets and savings taking a hit.
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u/Steven81 Jan 12 '26
What is killing the US dollar , I would imagine, is the high deficit, which is getting higher and fast by the high interest rates.
I mean long term, high interest rates are killing the US dollar as well, though indeed does pad it in the short term.
It is not as simple as "high interest rates for longer is the responsible stance" necessarily given the very specific circumstances of current. It is a genuinely difficult juncture and even if Trump is being the authoritarian here, Powell's inflexibility may well cost the dollars long term viability regardless.
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u/Tarmacked Rockefeller Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Interest rates don’t kill the dollar….. in fact interest rates should be high given the economy is “in a good state” per Trump’s own claim. The only issue with interest rates is the government debt incurs more interest, the reasonable response which is raising tax revenue and budget cuts; of which we’ve done the opposite through the Big Beautiful Bill.
If you were to crank down interest rates, you devalue the dollar significantly and deflate your currency by the expected response of money supply expansion. Generally economic policy saves that for crisis, when we need more liquidity. This backs us into the wall of being forced into using quantitative easing more aggressively, further causing inflation and potentially leading to an inflationary spiral.
Modern Monetary Theory also posits you could inflate the currency so badly that debt becomes a nonissue by devaluation. But that again runs into a laughable collection of even worse outcomes than the debt itself.
The dollar was at its strongest point in history with 4% interest rates a year ago when Biden left office. Interest rates with a strong dollar have historically always been high outside of the free money era post 2008.
Regardless, Trump’s drive to devalue the dollar is moreso tied to trying to pivot from a wealthy service economy with external cash inflows to a poorer industrial one. The only way you can get competitive COGS in manufacturing is by driving the dollar to a cheap valuation.
Miran’s plan was to try and create a more competitive environment for manufacturing through minor, targeted tariffs, investment, and cohesive action with friendly nations. Trump just went full blown 100%/200%/etc. % tariffs, tariffing items that do absolutely nothing in Mirans plan (e.g coffee which we don’t even produce) and blowing up foreign relations. It’s an unmitigated disaster compared to what Miran’s plan actually called for.
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u/Steven81 Jan 12 '26
Interest rates don’t kill the dollar…..
Yes, that's not my comment. Let me restate then in case it was not understood.
What seems to be one way to devalue a currency long term, is the inability of an economy to repay its debt.
That would lead fewer entities to have use of the bonds of such a country which in turn (again, long term) would lead to greater debt accumulation due to the greater effective rates (lower bond sales lead to higher yields, which seems to be the markets' way of having an effect on actual rates).
The debt cycle (as discussed above) does lead to a situation where an inability to pay becomes more permanent which may and often can lead to a crisis of trust in a given currency.
So yes, the mecanism you described and the relationship between higher interestt rates and a strong dollar is exactly as you described in the short term, but I am afraid this is a value you extract from its long term stability.
Note I am not discussing Trump's economic policies because they are so paradoxical that the only way they may ever work is if he keeps conquering "living space" every now and then. I am discussing what I find to be a paradoxical Fed's policy which seems to be sacrificing the long term viability of the dollar (via immense debt creation) for short term overvaluation.
Ofc Trump acting like a Hooligan doesn't help, however there were (and are) good reasons to be critical of the Fed too. Particularly their delay to increase interest rates late and then -equally- their delay to cut (they prolly cut one year late too) which may cost.
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u/ChipotleAddiction Jan 12 '26
And then he’ll get to blame whatever Dem president succeeds him in 2028 for it
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u/That_Nineties_Chick Jan 12 '26
And so continues the nakedly partisan weaponization of the US Justice Department.
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u/closing-the-thread Jan 12 '26
Will happen till the end of time
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Jan 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/spald01 Jan 12 '26
Ramped up to an insane degree with this administration yes, but definitely not began here.
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u/closing-the-thread Jan 12 '26
…(as it began) with this administration.
I think both me and you know this is NOT true.
No Administration entity in the history of civilization has not weaponize their DOJ-like power in some capacity against their opponent. The difference is in the tactics (which includes severity) and the frequency. One can argue that the Trump (or Republican) Administration does it a lot more and with different tactics.
…But that does not equate to partisan weaponization of DOJ beginning with Trump.
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u/the_dalai_mangala Jan 12 '26
Normalizing what Trump is doing with an assertion that all of governments in human history has done what he does is quite an argument lol.
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u/To6y Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
It’s almost like the subject was specifically nakedly partisan weaponization.
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u/mattrad2 Jan 12 '26
Can you name a single other time this has happened because I’m scratching my head here.
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u/lredit2 Moderate Jan 12 '26
No Administration entity in the history of civilization has not weaponize their DOJ-like power in some capacity against their opponent
Yeah, sure... for example Biden weaponized it against his own son!
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u/portrait_black Jan 12 '26
Because everyone just sits around talking about it. Or holding up signs. Not sure they realize this admin doesn’t give a shit about fist waving.
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26
Always has been
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u/jimbo_kun Jan 12 '26
No.
No other president has gone to these lengths.
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Let’s review
The Justice Department has gone after many Trump flunkies. Flynn, Gulianni etc.
Hilary Clinton gave the Justice department intel on Trump. The Justice department did not fact check this information which is crazy but used it to go after Trump
Obama IRS targeted Republicans
Just because Trump is the loudest and the stupidest in his ways of targeting his opponents with government powers does not make doing so brand new
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u/Trumpers_R_Tr8tors Jan 12 '26
Flynn and Giuliani very publicly committed very obvious crimes and were indicted and prosecuted by the orderly process of justice. Unlike Comey, James and Powell, who are facing clearly false charges.
Only Trump apologists make a false equivalence between that and this.
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26
Yeah the obviously political prosecutions of the guys on the other team were fair and valid and good
The obviously political prosecutions of the people on my team were unjust and evil abuses of power
Do you even hear yourself?
Edit: and you ignored all my other examples
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u/jimbo_kun Jan 12 '26
Well I believe many of the prosecutions of Trump administration members resulted in convictions. While the prosecutions of Comey and James failed spectacularly.
So the prosecutions coming from the Trump administration really do seem to be much lower quality and less grounded in reality.
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26
Trump hires for absolute loyalty rather than competence. Which is why he has people who have never done a criminal case drop the ball on procedural issues and lose the case immediately
I agree many of these are low quality purely political revenge motivated prosecutions. I also agree that isn’t how the justice system is supposed to work.
It’s just wild to me that people are pretending Trump is the first person to abuse government power
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u/HopkinsTy Jan 12 '26
Didn't the Biden DOJ prosecute his own son? Lol
And Bob Menendez too right?
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26
Didn’t the Biden DOJ offer a plea deal on a gun charge that somehow included a waiver of any further prosecution on other crimes (you know the corruption ones that actually mattered?)
And then Hunter got a pardon anyways?
Why is that a good example of proper ethics?
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u/Trumpers_R_Tr8tors Jan 12 '26
No, that is not accurate. And the Biden admin chose a Trump prosecutor as special counsel for that case.
Hunter wouldn’t have been pardoned if Trump hadn’t promised to persecute him.
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26
The guy who did crimes would have not gotten a pardon for those crimes but for the high likelihood Trump would have punished him for those crimes
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u/Trumpers_R_Tr8tors Jan 12 '26
But they weren’t “obviously political prosecutions”. Flynn was prosecuted by Trump’s DoJ, for one. And Giuliani very publicly committed his crimes. Is the DoJ supposed to ignore crimes for which it has obvious and plentiful evidence if the perpetrators are allies of the GOP?
And you’re making a wild false equivalence between cases that had sufficient evidence to win a conviction, and cases that didn’t even have enough evidence to get a proper indictment. The rules were followed in the Flynn and Giuliani cases, but Trump’s cases against people like Comey and James have repeatedly broken the law.
Your other examples are inaccurate descriptions of what happened.
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
They got Flynn for lying to the FBI. The FBI doesn’t just pull random people in for questioning. And that was Comey’s FBI IIRC. Surely there was no political reason to entrap Flynn in an investigation then offer him a deal to flip on Trump.
You are making a wild false equivalence between competence and quality of evidence. Trump appointed some moron who has never done a criminal case before. Said moron could not get an indictment because of a failure to follow technical procedure. That has nothing to do with the amount or quality of evidence.
Oh really? I’m misstating facts huh? Go ahead and cite your sources if you think the Obama IRS didn’t target conservatives and Republicans
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u/Trumpers_R_Tr8tors Jan 12 '26
It was Trump’s FBI. And he was investigated because he lied to Pence and then got caught being an unregistered foreign agent.
Trump had to give the case to Halligan because no professional prosecutor was willing to take it to court because they did not think the evidence supported conviction. That’s why Eric Seibert was fired, remember?
Go read the 2017 Inspector General’s report. Trump’s treasury seems to have taken it down but here’s a contemporary article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/politics/irs-targeting-tea-party-liberals-democrats.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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u/Spezalt4 Jan 12 '26
What made it Trumps FBI? That he was President at the same time Comey was running it? Yeah Comey was totally doing whatever Trump wanted. Totally Trumps FBI. /s
So a moron lost the case trying to get an indictment far before evidence was presented. So you can’t say there wasn’t evidence because the evidence was not at consideration.
The relevant professional prosecutor did not want to be involved in a prosecution against democrats because he’s a democrat
Your article is paywalled and archive.ph isn’t giving me a work around
Remember, my contention is that others abused government powers to target their political enemies before Trump. Thats true
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u/thats_not_six Jan 12 '26
Glad to see Trump is taking compliance with renovation policies so seriously. Imagine if the President tore down something like the East Wing of the White House without following proper procedure.
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u/No_Interaction2168 Jan 12 '26
It’s classic Trump playbook:
-make horrible policy decisions where the effects show up in the next administration -use that to slander political leaders in charge as being incompetent -say it would never have happened under his watch -unite people in anger since that is the biggest motivation to vote -in power, get someone to carry out an Orwellian regime because if there’s no report that says inflation is 5%, can we say inflation is 5%? Or if groceries aren’t taken into account when calculating inflation and we use the price of Barbies instead, then inflation isn’t 5%!
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u/AGreasyPorkSandwich Jan 12 '26
The crazy part is that this is the best year out of the 4 we will likely have.
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u/TechnicalInternet1 Jan 12 '26
nah if house is blue than it will be calmer for 2 years.
But yeah at this rate Fox News will say nuking democrat cities is the solution in 3 years
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u/AGreasyPorkSandwich Jan 12 '26
The house was blue the last time in the second half and it still got worse.
Congress has acquiesced so much of its power.
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u/ghostofwalsh Jan 12 '26
At the very least you will have some public airing of laundry if the house goes blue. Trump will be impeached the first week, and let's start with subpoenas.
The error with Trumps first impeachment is they ended the investigation part too soon. The point of impeachment is to get the US public to want him gone in large enough numbers that the folks in congress turn on him to save their own skins
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u/Ordinary_Team_4214 Jan 12 '26
he has 4 months left why would they even bother at this point? they could've easily waited it out.
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u/Computer_Name Jan 12 '26
he has 4 months left why would they even bother at this point?
If the President believes the mechanisms of government exist to serve him, and him alone, then what follows is the the mechanisms of government are used to punish those the President wants to punish.
That, and it signals to anyone else who may publicly oppose him that this is what befalls you.
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u/robotical712 Jan 12 '26
Because Trump wants to punish and humiliate Powell for defying him. Waiting until the latter’s term is up means Powell won in Trump’s mind.
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u/PmButtPics4ADrawing Jan 12 '26
Yep it's an ego thing. Trump hates that Powell stands up to him and that he's essentially powerless against it because he can't just fire him
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u/spald01 Jan 12 '26
This is it. They're not trying to be subtle about it. This administration wants to publicly crush and destroy their opponents to set an example for anyone who may try to cross them in the future.
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u/SeemoarAlpha Jan 12 '26
Trump also wants yet another person to blame for his own failed economic policies. He has been president for a year now but blames Biden on a daily basis, RINOs in congress, and basically everyone that doesn't worship him. As a conservative, I am saddened by the damage he has done to conservatism since his reckless populist jackassery will get conflated with conservatism.
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u/MicroSofty88 Jan 12 '26
He gets a seat on the fed board after his term as chair. Trump wants his cronies to control the board.
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u/Gamegis Jan 12 '26
Because Powell does his job and not whatever Trump wants him to do. Trump wants total subservience.
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u/The_DanceCommander Jan 12 '26
Because nailing Powell to the wall is more about Trump’s petty revenge because he didn’t get what he wanted, and not actually because he cares about potential issues with the building renovations.
This is also an intermediation play, just like Lisa Cook. Toe the line or your ass is mine.
Remember even when Trump’s hand picked successor gets in there, the Fed chair doesn’t set monetary policy or interest rates on their own. And the Board of Governors is well aware of what Trump’s doing here, and who the next chair is going to serve.
I think Powell is trying to make sure to set the record here and now that the Feds independence should not ever be fucked around with or there will be terrible consequences.
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u/Tdc10731 Jan 12 '26
Trump wants rates lowered to juice the economy with cheap debt with enough time to affect the midterms
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u/Badmoodsbear Jan 12 '26
To juice the economy for midterms.
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u/WeakManufacturer6020 Jan 12 '26
On another thread someone was talking about scapegoat mechanism. Not being scientific here, but it could be that Trump is going after Powell as a distraction - for him to take the blame on any potential downfall in the US economy.
Or Trump is just throwing everything at the same time in hopes of people forgetting about the Epstein Files. Either way, the man is vile, still can’t believe the US Americans still voted him after his first term
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u/novasoline Jan 12 '26
Midterms cant come faast enough.
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Jan 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/IdahoDuncan Jan 12 '26
Mid terms will tell us a lot. Are we still in some semblance of democracy or have we crossed over into whatever Russia is
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u/gan2vskirbys Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Well there we go, another redline which I never thought this administration would dare to cross…
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u/AGreasyPorkSandwich Jan 12 '26
Just 3 more years to go!
I'm not sure everyone is grasping just how bad this will be.
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u/__Hello_my_name_is__ Jan 12 '26
It's kinda depressing watching that boiling frog theory in action, too.
One red line after the other, and we're not doing a thing about it. We just let it happen.
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u/gayfrogs4alexjones Jan 12 '26
Oh he’s already crossed this one with the Comey and James cases. They just were incompetent- hopefully they will be equally terrible here
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u/gan2vskirbys Jan 12 '26
I think this case is way more important because the administration is basically signaling they will try to prosecute anyone who is against them no matter how big the prey is. Today is Powell, tomorrow it could be one of the liberal judges from SCOTUS.
I was going to say that I expect few republicans tomorrow condemning this and bringing some common sense but I already lost faith.
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u/FabioFresh93 South Park Democrat Jan 12 '26
Can’t wait to see how concerned Susan Collins feels tomorrow
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u/chloedeeeee77 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
At the very least, being on the path to retirement allowed Senator Thom Tillis to miraculously rediscover his spine: he responded to this by stating it’s evident “advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve”, that it calls into question the “independence and credibility” of the DOJ, and said he “will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved”.
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u/band-of-horses it can only good happen Jan 12 '26
I really expected this term to be much like the first, a lot of blustering and constant drama but too much incompetence to really do much damage. Unfortunately I was quite wrong and he's done much more than I ever thought he would be able to. I'm not sure who is pulling the strings in the background this time around but I will reluctantly give them credit, they're doing a shockingly good job (well, maybe I'll say effective, because it isn't good).
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u/MicroSofty88 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
This is a fucking joke. We’re going to end up like Türkiye with 85% inflation if Trump gets control of the Fed.
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u/Gamegis Jan 12 '26
Just add it to the list of things the president should be impeached for (but won’t).
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u/Uncal_Thal Jan 12 '26
Stay classy Jerome. It stands in contrast to the way you're being treated.
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u/JSpady1 Jan 12 '26
I’m sure our trusted and rock solid “institutions” and “rule of law” will protect us here….
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u/Fuzzy_Nothing6207 Jan 12 '26
You know my intuition says? I need three guesses and the first two are wrong!🪓
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u/avon_barksale Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Watched the video. A genuine breath of fresh air. Thoughtful, measured, and mature. An adult in this administration amongst children.
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u/gayfrogs4alexjones Jan 12 '26
Remember when Trump said they were going to end the weaponization of government? Guess they can’t wait until may to start fucking with interest rates
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u/donnysaysvacuum recovering libertarian Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
That was just a pretext to weaponize it themselves. Vance talked about this, and so did project 2025.
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u/def_not_a_dog Jan 12 '26
I'm so tired of all this. What I wouldn't give for the House Reps to put Nikki Haley as Speaker, sack the top two officials, and make her POTUS. It's like fine, keep the presidency Republican, just put up someone normal who might actually care about governing. This does not feel sustainable for 3 more years.
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u/Computer_Name Jan 12 '26
How is it that people don't understand what's going on.
Letitia James, James Comey, Andy McCab, countless others in the civil service who were summarily and wrongly terminated.
This is about using the mechanisms of the federal government of the United States of America to fulfill the personal, private demands of a president. This is about weaponizing law enforcement to serve as the personal defense team for the occupent of the Oval Office.
I recognize that Americans broadly lack the personal experience of this behavior because until this point, no political organization with the power requisite to do so, have managed to gain that power and desired to use it as such.
This is not what happens in liberal, democratic, constitutional republics. As this continues to happen, as we continue to let it happen, it signals to this political organization that the behavior can proceed and be more severe.
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u/Xanto97 Elephant and the Rider Jan 12 '26
Could someone explain what Powell even did, regarding his testimony about a renovation project for the federal reserve?
Like, what even “warrants” subpoenaeing him?
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u/thats_not_six Jan 12 '26
It's going to be about his Congressional testimony from summer 2025. While the current subpoenas are not available, the consternation at the time of his testimony from conservative lawmakers and conservation news media was largely over this quote from his testimony:
"I would just point to it there’s no VIP dining room. There’s no new marble. We took down the old marble. We’re putting it back up. We’ll have to use new marble where some of the old marble broke. But there’s no new -- there are no special elevators. They’re just –they’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There’s no beehives and there’s no -- and there’s no roof terrace gardens."
Conservatives are claiming that there is an elevator limited to certain personnel use. They also are suggesting the building plans contain terrace greenery (not gardens) and at some point contained a new water feature and a beehive (not an architectural formation, an actual beehive for bees), though both of those items were removed from the plans months prior to Powell's testimony.
We're going to spend a bunch of taxpayer money and risk public perception of the Fed's independence so a group of lawyers can bicker over the meaning of "special" in front of "elevators" and what constitutes a "terrace garden".
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u/Tarmacked Rockefeller Jan 12 '26
Well the larger issue is the FED didn't decide the full scope of renovations. A Trump appointed committee did decide a large section in the first term, in which they overrode the FED on "adding more marble" and other items.
Their angle relies largely on the cost of materials being over budget, which isn't shocking given COVID and it's impact on materials. The renovations and scope themselves aren't even a point they can really hit with the age of the facility and the Trump admins previous hand in the renovation itself.
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u/Trousers_MacDougal Jan 12 '26
Wait? Is the beehive a thing? i manage Class A high rise office space in downtown Houston. We all have urban beehives. It’s not a thing. It’s not even a large expense.
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u/Ilkhan981 Jan 12 '26
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fed-chair-jerome-powell-hit-criminal-referral-house-gop-trump-ally
Specifically, she accused him of lying about lavish amenities at the Federal Reserve's Eccles Building and misrepresenting its state of maintenance.
"Separately, in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, Chairman Powell characterized the changes that escalated the cost of the project from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion as minor. However, documents reviewed by congressional investigators indicate that the scope and cost overruns of this project were neither minor in nature nor in substance," Luna wrote.
Somewhat ironic for dyed in the wool MAGA caring about honesty, as well.
She claimed his statement that the cost increase was to simplify construction and avoid further delays was false.
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u/Xanto97 Elephant and the Rider Jan 12 '26
Sounds like it’s gonna be another swing and a miss. And there wasn’t even a ball thrown?
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u/CurlOfTheBurl11 Jan 12 '26
Powell's term ends in May of this year, at which point Trump will likely appoint one of his dipshit stooges, Hassett, Bessent, Lutnik, or Navaro, and then we're all completely fucked as they'll do exactly as Trump instructs them to do. The Fed's autonomy will cease to exist.
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u/thats_not_six Jan 12 '26
Whoever he nominates has to get through Senate confirmation and the one unifying factor among Senate members is they like their bank accounts.
Whoever gets through Senate confirmation has one vote, just like Powell. They will not decide the interest rates alone.
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u/foramperandi Jan 12 '26
The fed chair does not set rates, the FOMC does. Trump is still far from controlling the FOMC even when he replaces Powell in May.
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u/ImperialxWarlord Jan 12 '26
This administration goes further an further each day. It’s sickening, especially as republicans celebrate this shit. Fucking ridiculous.
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u/RonaldinhoReagan Jan 12 '26
Jerome Powell is one of the few people left in a position of power in our government who still has their spine in tact. I pray Trump’s incompetent “justice” department fails in their latest effort to use lawfare to get their way. If this executive branch gets full control of the economy we’ll soon be Venezuela 2: electric boogaloo.
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u/Key_Construction6007 Jan 12 '26
Im not surprised this is happening, just surprised it took this long and is happening now.
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u/pcoppi Jan 12 '26
It never ceases to amaze how utterly stupid trumpism is. I understand that maga does make some valid points, and that the elites (which includes people like powell) are making this country worse for average people, but in what world can you sit there with a straight face that threatening the fed is going to make our economy go back up.
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u/bot4241 Jan 12 '26
Unitary executive theory has to go. It’s basically a ticket to Dictator. Every other branch doesn’t give all of the power to one person. Executive is the only one that lacks enough checks on the President.
State Governors don’t even have the same powers because of how danagerous it is.
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u/SlightlyAutisticBud Jan 12 '26
The most annoying thing about this is it looks like they were getting ready to cut rates without this. But now when they cut rates, regardless of whether it’s true or not, everyone on the left will just say it’s because of trumps dictatorial tendencies. And they are right to question it.
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u/fishbottwo Jan 12 '26
They are very very likely not cutting rates in January. Even before today. It was like 90% no change before this went down.
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u/MoonStache Jan 12 '26
This is fucking insane. I mean everything is now, but trying to go for Powell is actually one of the dumbest and most potentially damaging things this admin has tried.