Fed That Fights Back Is a Threat to Trump’s Takeover Plan
Source: Bloomberg
Updated 2 hr ago
Updated Jan 13, 2026, 6:55 AM ET
Published Jan 13, 2026, 6:46 AM ET
For the first time, Jerome Powell responded defiantly to the president’s attacks, and the administration is now worried about its plans to replace the Fed chair.
On the verge of naming a new Federal Reserve chief, the Trump administration took one more shot at the incumbent — and triggered a Washington backlash that could yet derail the whole campaign to tighten White House control over the central bank.
Chair Jerome Powell, who’s largely turned the other cheek to years of President Donald Trump’s barbs, came out fighting after the Fed got served subpoenas hinting at criminal charges. For the first time, he explicitly accused the president of attempting a power grab. What’s at stake, Powell said, is whether interest rates will be based on “political pressure or intimidation” instead of the US economy’s needs.
