We Want an Independent Fed, Not One with Trump Derangement Syndrome
 By Tom Carter – July 24, 2025

America has always benefited from a central bank that operates independently from politics. But independence is not immunity from scrutiny, especially when that independence is abused. In recent years, the Federal Reserve, under Chairman Jerome Powell, has increasingly exhibited a disturbing pattern: not independence, but obstinance. Not objectivity, but obsession. And its target is clear: President Donald J. Trump.

Let’s be honest. The Federal Reserve has Trump Derangement Syndrome. And it’s time we call it out.

The Federal Reserve’s mandate is simple: promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Nowhere in that mandate does it say the Fed should operate as a hedge against populism or as a last line of defense against a former (and potentially future) president. Yet that’s exactly how we believe Powell and the Beltway financial elite seem to view their role.

Just look at the headlines. When inflation spiraled out of control under Biden, the Fed was “caught off guard.” When interest rate hikes threatened the Biden economy, Powell moved cautiously, carefully coordinating with the White House’s fiscal messaging. But when Trump was president? The Fed hiked rates aggressively, nine times between 2017 and 2018, even as inflation remained subdued and wage growth was finally reaching blue-collar workers for the first time in years.

That’s not independence. That’s sabotage.

It’s no secret that Powell has been under immense pressure from the same establishment that loathes Trump. He’s at Davos. He’s aligned with the technocrats. He listens to the chorus of elite economists and Wall Street globalists who view Trump as a disruptor to their polite world of central planning. And like so many of them, Powell sees his role not as steward of a neutral financial institution, but as a gatekeeper of acceptable political outcomes.

This isn’t just bad policy. It’s dangerous.

Weaponizing monetary policy to counteract a political candidate undermines the very legitimacy of the Federal Reserve. It’s the monetary equivalent of the FBI’s election interference or the DOJ’s two-tiered justice system. When institutions become extensions of the anti-Trump resistance, they stop being institutions and start becoming factions. And the Fed, of all bodies, cannot afford to become a faction.

Here’s the irony: Trump never wanted to control the Fed. He wanted accountability. He wanted transparency. And yes, he wanted interest rates that reflected the real economy, not the political fears of DC insiders. Is that so unreasonable?

Under Trump, the economy was booming. Wages were rising. Energy was affordable. Small businesses were thriving. If Powell and the Fed had been willing to operate based on data, not on disdain, America could have seen even greater gains. Instead, they stifled a recovery and then sat on their hands as Biden ushered in an inflationary storm.

Today, Americans are still paying the price. Groceries are more expensive. Credit card debt is at historic highs. Homeownership is out of reach for millions. And what is Powell doing? Signaling that rate cuts are off the table.

We do need an independent Fed. But we need one that’s truly independent, not just from political pressure, but from political bias. Independence means serving the American people, not protecting the status quo. It means making decisions based on what’s good for the economy, not what’s bad for Trump.

Chairman Powell and his colleagues must remember: they are not elected. They do not set national economic strategy. They do not decide who wins elections. Their job is to provide stability, not steer outcomes. And if they’ve forgotten that, Congress must remind them with oversight, audits, and accountability.

TDS has infected many of our institutions. But if we don’t draw the line at the Fed, the damage could be irreversible. Interest rates should not be a weapon. Central banking should not be partisan warfare. And the American people should not be pawns in an elite vendetta against the one man they fear the most.

Mr. Powell, your job isn’t to stop Trump or argue about cost overruns. Do your job and check your politics at the door. 

Posted 8/26/25

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