musk aligns with trump's call to diminish fed autonomy
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, billionaire, and supporter of the newly elected President Donald Trump, endorsed the idea of allowing U.S. Presidents to interfere in the policy of the Federal Reserve. Previously, Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, stated that he would not resign from his position.
As reported on CNBC's website, Elon Musk, billionaire and supporter of the newly elected President Donald Trump, endorsed the idea of allowing presidents to interfere in the policy of the Federal Reserve (Fed), which is the central bank of the United States.
#EndtheFed
In response to a Thursday social media post by Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, who called for the Fed to be subordinated to the President, Musk posted a "100" emoji on Friday. It is used to express approval.
According to Lee, the executive branch should be under the direction of the President because, as he wrote on platform X, "that's exactly how the Constitution was designed." The Federal Reserve, he added, "is one of the many examples of a departure from the Constitution." Senator Lee ended his post with the hashtag #EndtheFed.
Although Musk's comment is brief, it reflects a broader campaign of pressure on the Federal Reserve's independence, which may take on a new shape in the Trump administration.
Trump versus Powell
On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he would not resign if Trump asked him to. "It's not permitted by law," Powell responded to reporters at a press conference after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, equivalent to approximately 0.25%.
The Fed's independence is intended to allow the central bank to make decisions on monetary policy, such as raising or lowering interest rates, based solely on the state of the U.S. economy.
The market and investors will undoubtedly closely watch the controversial relations between the President-elect and the Fed Chair. Recall that Trump appointed Powell as the head of the central bank in 2017. Nonetheless, he repeatedly attacked him during his first presidential term, claiming that he did not ease monetary policy quickly enough.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump frequently spoke about giving himself a say in Federal Reserve policy if he won the White House again.
"I believe the President should have at least (some - editor's note) say in this matter (monetary policy - editor's note)," Trump said in August at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. "I made a lot of money, I've been very successful, and I think in many cases, I have a better instinct than the people at the Federal Reserve," he added.
