Powell Stands Up to Trump

 

The DoJ has launched a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony last June concerning renovations of several Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.

Such a probe is laughable when President Trump saw fit to unilaterally tear down the East Wing of the White House. 

For his part, Powell issued a statement regarding said probe:

This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress's oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.

This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.

It is worth mentioning that Powell's term as Federal Reserve Chair expires next month. Trump has made it clear that he will not re-appoint Powell to a third term after initially appointing him in the first place back in 2017. At this rate, Trump might very well appoint himself as Federal Reserve Chair. After all, he appointed himself Chair of the Kennedy Center or the Trump-Kennedy Center as he now calls it.

If Trump chooses not to appoint himself, he will surely appoint someone who will do his bidding as he has done with the likes of Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Kash Patel and Robert Kennedy, Jr. among many others. In this case, Trump's bidding is to lower interest rates.

So why launch a criminal probe against Powell? To wield power and intimidation for the sake of wielding power and intimidation as has been done since the New Year in Venezuela and in Minneapolis. In Venezuela, it was to send a message to the international community that we can remove anyone we like and run the show. In Minneapolis, it was to send a message that anyone who gets in the way of ICE can expect to be executed in broad daylight and branded a terrorist. In Powell's case, it is to send the message the Trump Administration intends to end any last shred of independence in the federal public service and that government employees are meant to bow to the will of the President.

In view of these facts, it is good to see Powell stand up to such nonsense and tell it like it is. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis blasted the criminal inquiry against Powell arguing that it compromises the independence of the DoJ, and has said he will oppose any appointments to the Federal Reserve, including the Chair until the matter has been resolved.  With that said, Tillis has occasionally stood up to Trump only to fold like a chair on the Titanic. I don't think Tillis can be relied upon especially if no other Republican Senator sees fit to join his present opposition.

Whatever Tillis does or does not do, one thing is clear. Jerome Powell, in the face of a criminal probe launched for nefarious and self-serving purposes, has emerged as a profile in courage.