E Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell sounds alarm over political interference

Key points

• Jerome Powell, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, has warned that a single act of political interference in monetary policy could permanently destroy public trust in the central bank.
• As Donald Trump’s administration continues to test the Fed’s longstanding independence, Powell said in a speech on Sunday night that the institution was in the midst of a “stress test”.
• Powell, who was accepting the 2026 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage award in Boston, stepped down as Fed chair last month, and was succeeded by Kevin Warsh, but remains on its board of governors.
• Legal protections insulating monetary policy from politics “have served the public well” across administrations of both parties, Powell argued in his acceptance speech.
• “If any administration finds a way to remove Fed officials over policy differences,” he added, “then future administrations will do so as well”.