Powell Not Concerned About the Fed’s Independence Under Trump

“Good afternoon, everybody. It is thrilling to have Jay Powell here.” “What does independent mean? It basically means that we can make our decisions without them being reversed other than by Congress, which created it. We’re a creature of Congress. We’re not in the Constitution, we’re a creature of statute. So that’s what independent means. And that gives us the ability to make these decisions for the benefit of all Americans at all times, not for any particular political party or political outcome. It’s the law of the land. And I’m not concerned that there’s some risk that we would lose our statutory independence because I do think that those set of ideas are strongly believed by people.” “But do you fear, I mean, he has talked openly about firing you, which is something technically he’s not supposed to be able to do.” “So, I never discuss anything that elected officials say. So I’m going to disappoint you here. I just know — this is our focus: The U.S. economy is in very good shape right now. It’s in remarkably good shape. We are in the envy of other large economies around the world, and I want to do everything I can to keep it there during the rest of my term.”