Waller Rejects Politicization of the Fed, Firmly Opposes Firing of Regional Bank Presidents
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Tuesday (April 21) asserted that he would "absolutely" reject any attempt to fire the presidents of the Fed's regional banks simply because of differing views on interest rate policy. Waller said such a move was "not the design of the system" when asked what he would do if asked to fire several regional bank presidents because of their stance on interest rates.
The statement came after Waller outlined his proposal for operational reforms at 12 regional banks, including centralizing functions such as human resources, technology support, and procurement, to make them more efficient. He emphasized that the proposal would not affect the role of regional bank presidents in the monetary policy decision-making process.
This issue has intensified amid market concerns about the Fed's independence, after President Donald Trump attempted to fire Governor Lisa Cook and threatened to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell if he remained at the central bank after his term as chairman expires next month. By law, a majority of the Fed's Board of Governors can vote to fire a regional bank president—but that has never happened. A similar question was also asked of Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee to replace Powell, who called for "regime change" at the Fed regarding the way monetary policy is conducted. (Arl)
Source: Newsmaker.id
