Featured in the Daily Signal

Global central bankers issued a statement Tuesday defending U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the launch of a criminal investigation into the central bank chief.

That headline tells you everything you need to know about the moment we are in.

I believe in an independent Federal Reserve. America has always benefited from a central bank insulated from day-to-day political swings. A nation this large and complex needs a steady hand on monetary policy.

But independence does not mean antagonism. It does not mean operating as a parallel power center in opposition to a duly elected president. And it certainly does not mean taking cues from European technocrats who have no vote in our elections and no stake in our sovereignty.

What we are seeing now is not neutral independence. It is institutional resistance. Not objectivity, but obsession. The Federal Reserve under Chairman Jerome Powell has developed Trump Derangement Syndrome, and it is distorting decisions that affect every American household.

When central bankers from Europe and around the world rush to Powell’s defense, we are told this is about protecting “independence.” In reality, it looks like elite solidarity. A global technocratic class is circling the wagons around one of its own against a president they never accepted.

With all due respect, European bank heads should mind their own business.

This is the United States of America. Our economic policy is set by Americans, for Americans. We are America First. We do not bow to Davos. We do not outsource our monetary philosophy to Brussels, Frankfurt, or London. The Federal Reserve is not a subsidiary of the European Central Bank, and its chairman does not answer to a transatlantic club of unelected elites.

Independence is not immunity from accountability. It is not a license for unelected officials to quietly counteract the agenda chosen by voters. The Federal Reserve’s mandate is clear: maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Nowhere does it say the Fed should function as a hedge against populism or a brake on a president it dislikes.

Yet that is exactly how Powell and the financial establishment appear to see their role.

Look at the record. When inflation exploded under Biden, the Fed was “caught off guard.” When tightening threatened the Biden economy, Powell moved cautiously. But when Trump was president, the Fed hiked rates aggressively, nine times between 2017 and 2018, even as inflation was tame and working-class wages were finally rising.

That is not neutral independence. That is institutional bias.

Supporting Fed independence does not mean endorsing a Fed that works against the elected president. An independent Fed should be professionally detached from partisan politics, but it should still operate in good faith with the administration chosen by the American people. It should not view a president as a threat to be contained, nor look overseas for validation when challenged.

President Trump never sought to turn the Fed into a political arm. He asked for accountability. He demanded transparency. He argued that interest rates should reflect the real economy, not the anxieties of Washington insiders and European technocrats. That is not radical. That is responsive governance.

Under Trump, the economy boomed. Wages rose. Energy was affordable. Small businesses thrived. A Fed that respected both its independence and the President’s economic vision could have amplified that success. Instead, Powell tightened into growth and then stood flat-footed as Biden ushered in an inflationary storm.

Now Americans are paying the price. Groceries cost more. Homeownership is out of reach. Credit card debt is exploding. And Powell signals that relief will wait.

We do need an independent Fed. But we need one that is independent from political bias, not hostile to the President and deferential to Europe. Independence should mean professionalism, not resistance. It should mean data-driven decisions that complement national economic leadership, not quietly undermine it.

Powell and his colleagues are not elected. They do not set national strategy. They do not decide elections. Their job is to provide stability, not steer outcomes. If they have forgotten that, Congress has every right to remind them through oversight and accountability.

Trump Derangement Syndrome has infected too many institutions. If it captures the Federal Reserve, the damage will be profound. Interest rates should not be a weapon. Central banking should not become partisan warfare. And independence should never be an excuse to oppose the will of the American people or defer to foreign elites.

Mr. Powell, your job is not to stop President Trump. It is to serve the American economy. Respect the office, respect the voters, and check your politics at the door.

Tom Carter is the Co-Founder of The American Conservatives Values ETF (ACVF). Learn more at https://investconservative.com/

For a list of ACVF Fund holdings:  https://acvetfs.com/fund/acv-etf-fund-data/

The views expressed are those of the authors as of 1/14/26 and are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of results, or investment advice.