President Donald Trump's habit of "bullying the Federal Reserve into lowering interest rates could be one of the most damaging of his second term, one analyst warned on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over holding interest rates too high. The president has also launched a mortgage fraud investigation into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, even though officials in the Trump administration have purchased properties using similar methods as Cook. Trump's goal seems to be bringing the Federal Reserve into his sphere of influence, and if left unchecked, the move could set the U.S. back "years, if not decades," according to Catherine Rampell, economics editor at The Bulwark.
Rampell argued in a new column on Thursday that Trump's efforts to "crush" the Federal Reserve's independence could "doom the United States."
"The threats to Fed independence have continued, and got darker this week," Rampell argued. "We may now be at an inflection point, as the Trump administration tacitly threatens to purge not Powell but other officials who set interest-rate policy."
"If he’s successful, Trump could seize direct control of the money supply and turn America into Venezuela," she added.