Donald Trump has reiterated his controversial belief that the president should have the ability to influence Federal Reserve policy.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Trump said, “I think I have the right to say ‘I think you should go up or down a little bit’” on interest rates.

“I don’t think I should be allowed to order it, but I think I have the right to put in comments as to whether or not the interest rates should go up or down,” he said.

In August, Trump said the president should be consulted on monetary policy, suggesting that he has “a better instinct” on interest rates than the Fed’s top poicymakers.

Trump's remarks aren't a slip of the tongue.

Earlier this year, the ex-president’s allies had drafted a document recommending significant changes in how the Fed sets monetary policy, including regular consultations with the Oval Office.

The draft document also stated that the president should be able to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell before his four-year term expires in 2026.

Policymakers don’t take tampering with the Fed’s independence lightly.

Fed’s Waller won’t allow political meddling

Members of the central bank’s top brass are ready to fight back should their political independence be eroded.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller believes that while the president is entitled to express opinions on monetary policy like any other citizen, this should not translate into having authority over it.

“That doesn’t mean I have to listen to or adjust policy to that, but he is entitled to every damn opinion he wants,” Waller told the University of Notre Dame in September.

Waller’s comments are especially significant because he is a member of this year’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which is responsible for setting interest rates.

He’s also one of three central bankers who were appointed during Trump’s first term. For this reason, Waller could be next in line to replace Powell as Chair should Trump win the presidency in November.

Waller has long been vocal about the Fed’s independence, having contributed to the peer-reviewed literature on the topic in 2011.

In his paper, Waller described central bank independence as “the key tool to ensure a government will not misuse monetary policy for short-term political reasons.”

Chairman Powell shares this view, saying the Fed’s “important degree of independence” allows policymakers to pursue their goals “based on facts and objective analysis.”

Powell and the Fed have already ignored Trump’s warning that the central bank shouldn’t cut interest rates before the election.

On Sept. 18, the FOMC voted to lower the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, which was a bold departure from its standard quarter-point moves.

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