Can the Federal Reserve Retain Its Independence in the Trump Era?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Federal Reserve Board begins this week with a new chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh. The Fed is a nonpartisan government body tasked with setting interest rates and controlling inflation, but since the start of Trump’s second term, former Fed chair Jerome Powell endured enormous pressure from the president, including a federal investigation against him, which has since been dropped. Can we trust our central bank to retain the independence that has made the U.S. the center of the globe’s financial system? We talk with the makers of a new Frontline documentary, “The President vs. The Fed.” Guests: James Jacoby, director, "The President vs. The Fed;" Jacoby has won an Emmy award for his previous film "Amazon Empire," and a Peabody award for his film "The Facebook Dilemma" Anya Bourg, producer, "The President vs. The Fed;" previous films include "The Facebook Dilemma" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:42.0	From K-Q-E-D. Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. A country's central bank is an important
0:51.9	institution. While there are different ideas about how a central
0:55.2	bank should work, an independent central bank tends to be a sign that a country's political
1:00.9	and economic institutions are stable. So as President Trump's new appointee to the Fed chair's seat,
1:07.5	Kevin Warsh, settles in this week, We look at what's happening here in the United
1:11.8	States with our central bank, which has been under tremendous pressure from the Trump administration.
1:16.9	We're joined this morning by the makers of a new frontline documentary, the President versus the Fed.
1:22.0	James Jacoby is a director, producer, and correspondent. Welcome, James.
1:25.7	Thank you for having me again.
1:30.3	And we've got Anya Borg, who is a producer on the documentary. Welcome.
1:31.3	Well, thanks so much. Great to be here.
	...

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