Trump Allies Draw Up Plans to Blunt Fed’s Independence
Some Trump advisers argue that the president should be consulted on interest-rate decisions
WASHINGTON—Donald Trump’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if the former president wins a second term, in the midst of a deepening divide among his advisers over how aggressively to challenge the central bank’s authority.
Former Trump administration officials and other supporters of the presumptive GOP nominee have in recent months discussed a range of proposals, from incremental policy changes to a long-shot assertion that the president himself should play a role in setting interest rates. A small group of the former president’s allies—whose work is so secretive that even some prominent former Trump economic aides weren’t aware of it—has produced a roughly 10-page document outlining a policy vision for the central bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
The group of Trump allies argues that he should be consulted on interest-rate decisions,
Several people who have spoken with Trump about the Fed said he appears to want someone in charge of the institution who will, in effect, treat the president as an ex officio member of the central bank’s rate-setting committee. Under such an approach, the chair would regularly seek Trump’s views on interest-rate policy and then negotiate with the committee to steer policy on the president’s behalf. Some of the former president’s advisers have discussed requiring that candidates for Fed chair privately agree to consult informally with Trump on the central bank’s decisions, the people familiar with the matter said.
Trump advisers are plotting to deliberately devalue the dollar if he’s re-elected, report says
A second Donald Trump administration could unilaterally devalue the US dollar, the de facto reserve currency used across much of the world as a lynchpin in the global financial system.
According to Politico, Mr Trump’s crop of economic advisers is “actively debating” how to devalue the dollar to bolster American exports, even at at the expense of the dollar’s status as a reserve currency and despite the risk that a devalued dollar could pour gasoline on inflationary fires that President Joe Biden has been trying to quell during his term in the White House.
The top booster of devaluation is reportedly Robert Lighthizer, Mr Trump’s former international trade representative, along with other Trumpworld advisers in Mr Lighthizer’s orbit.
One source told Politico that “currency revaluation” would “likely be a priority” for some of Mr Trump’s top aides if he and they are returned to the White House after this year’s presidential election.
As president, Mr Trump often fixated on America’s trade deficits with other countries and claimed that such deficits were evidence that those countries were somehow “taking advantage” of the US.
A former Trump administration official said devaluing America’s currency is attractive to Mr Trump and his advisers because it could, in theory, provide an artificial boost to American exports.
