Is the President insulting the Chair of the Federal Reserve helpful in any way?

Isn't he just trying to shift the blame for his potential failures onto the Fed?

...

Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed), is testifying before Congress (specifically the House Financial Services Committee, and today the Senate Banking Committee), explaining even to Trump why the Fed hasn't lowered interest rates.

** Trump and his allies still don't get it, no matter what he tells them. ** 🤔🤭

* Tuesday, June 24, 2025: Powell testified before the House Financial Services Committee.

* Wednesday, June 25, 2025: Today (June 25), he is testifying before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

- How does the Federal Reserve operate? -

To limit how much change a president can make at the Fed in any four-year term, and thus cap political leverage over interest rate decisions that can have electoral consequences, Congress sets Fed governors' terms at 14 years, with expirations staggered every two years.

The chair's term runs on a separate four-year schedule to give every president the chance to name the central bank's powerful head.

Interest rates, though, are set at meetings that include the 12 regional Fed bank presidents, five of whom vote on rates in any given year.

They are even further outside of presidential control, hired by the boards of directors of what are quasi-private institutions established more than a century ago to ensure regional input into national monetary policy.

Only 3 of the 12 expire before Trump leaves office, and none until 2028.

The rest are under terms extending into the 2030s.

Markets also play a role, voting daily on emerging Fed policy through the pricing of bonds, stocks, and contracts tied directly to the Fed's policy rate.

"One thing that we get very well conditioned to do is to listen attentively to the opinions of the many people who think that there are things we could do differently and better, but then still try to make the right decision," Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin told Reuters. "I think we're well conditioned to focus on the mission and not focus on the noise."