US EditionBessent defends DOJ Powell probe: Fed ‘independence does not mean no oversight’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed DOJ investigation of Fed Chair Powell amid renovation budget concerns while affirming Powell's commitment to Federal Reserve independence.
- On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the U.S. Department of Justice's inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on NBC's Meet the Press, saying he would answer any DOJ inquiries as appropriate oversight.
- The DOJ probe focuses on alleged renovation overruns at the Fed, with Bessent citing ignored requests for an internal review since last summer amid $700 million to $1.5 billion over budget claims.
- Bessent argued that market moves indicate investors look beyond the probe, citing two of the best bond auctions in months and rising stocks with falling yields.
- The Fed chair argued that the investigation is a thinly veiled attempt to politicize the central bank, warning it threatens whether policy will be set by evidence or political pressure.
- Later this year, with Powell's term expiring on May 15, Treasury Secretary Bessent stressed that oversight and transparency can coexist with independence, contrasting Treasury spending and White House renovations with the Fed's money-creation role.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Trump’s phony attack on the Fed: President is playing with fire with Powell probe
Donald Trump’s henchmen (in this case, henchwoman) are at it again, this time ginning up a phony criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell in much the same way that they’ve tried against Trump antagonists Jim Comey and Tish James. Those persecutions were horrible precedent in their own right, but this, signed off on by the U.S. attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, is a different caliber altogether, not just representing a threat …
For months Jerome Powell remained stoic in the face of Donald Trump’s frivolous attacks. A quijotesque figure, snugly, anodino and serious, the president of the Federal Reserve has said enough. He is determined to stand up to defend the independence of the institution he runs. Last Sunday he published an unusual video to denounce that the prosecution, under the Department of Justice, has opened a criminal investigation. He blamed her on her refu…
'Why Not Have A Little Sunlight?': Bessent Walks Welker Through Why Agency Can Be Independent And Still Accountable
Scott Bessent told Kristen Welker on Sunday's "Meet the Press" the Federal Reserve can be independent from the White House, but still be subject to oversight.
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