The Federal Reserve’s political independence — the sense that the world’s most powerful central bank makes decisions based on economic conditions, not short-term political considerations — is a critical national asset. President Donald Trump is eroding it in ways that could be bad for the country and his own agenda.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that a “formal process” to find a successor for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has already started — as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure for the top central banker to step aside before his term ends.

The White House accuses the Fed chair of potentially "violating the law" in his renovation of the central bank's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell is resisting President Donald Trump’s calls for lower interest rates, saying the Fed should not take debt and deficits into account.

The Fed’s prudent “wait-and-see” approach has the White House enraged. Trump has been very vocal that the politically independent central bank needs to slash the funds rate immediately by over 3%. This is to unleash what the president says is trillions of dollars in pent-up economic demand amidst somewhat stable inflation and job rates.

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cause if evidence supports that, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday and that the Fed "has a lot to answer for" on renovation cost overruns at its Washington headquarters.

His comments follow President Donald Trump’s intensified criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, accusing him of undermining the US economy with high interest rates, while simultaneously unveiling sweeping new tariffs targeting Canada, the European Union, Mexico, and Brazil.

THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S political independence- the sense that the world's most powerful central bank makes decisions based on economic conditions, not short-term political considerations- is a critical national asset.