By Enda Curran Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has waged a fierce campaign to impose his will on the Federal Reserve, breaking with the modern convention of walling off the US central bank from political interference, at least publicly. Trump has sought to pressure the bank to cut interest rates and verbally attacked then-Fed chair Jerome Powell. He also has attempted to push a Fed governor, Lisa Cook, from her job, over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud.

While Trump’s public complaints briefly subsided after Kevin Warsh, the president’s appointee, succeeded Powell in May, there have been clear signs that Trump has maintained his focus on the Fed.

In early fall, Trump resumed his attacks against Powell, saying he should resign from the central bank’s board of governors over findings the Fed mismanaged the renovation of its headquarters.

Trump’s efforts have renewed the question of how much a US president can and should influence an institution designed to be independent. Trump called for Powell to resign from the Fed’s board of governors after the central bank’s internal watchdog, in a report released Sept. 30, outlined a series of management missteps that caused a renovation project at the bank’s headquarters to balloon from the initial estimates of $1.3 billion in 2020. The report found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and didn’t identify any “administrative misconduct” connected to the $2.4 billion project.

During Powell’s tenure leading the central bank, Trump repeatedly criticized him over monetary policy and used the Fed’s Washington, DC, headquarters renovation as a cudgel against him. Powell resisted Trump’s efforts to push him out as Fed chairman.

Powell also broke with tradition when he decided to remain at the Fed as a governor after his second term as chair expired in May. His term as a governor runs to January 2028. The renovation project has long been a flashpoint between the Fed and the Trump administration as the president pushed for lower interest rates. Near the start of 2026 it prompted a controversial investigation by the Justice Department. The report on Sept. 30 appeared to put to rest the prospect for criminal charges.

Trump has attempted to fire Cook, who has served as Fed governor since 2022. Cook hasn’t been charged with a crime and she has denied the allegations that she committed mortgage fraud by falsely labeling a secondary home as her primary residence to get better loan terms. Her attorney has said they will challenge any attempt to fire her. Her position appears safe for the time being because the Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump had failed to provide her with the opportunity to respond to accusations of wrongdoing. But the court left open the possibility that Trump could try again to fire Cook as long as he provided her with a chance to defend herself first.

Appointed by then-President Joe Biden, Cook is serving a term set to expire in 2038. Fed observers warn that the Cook case remains critical for Fed independence from political interference.

Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act says members of the Fed’s board of governors, of which the chair is one, can be “removed for cause by the president.”But in June, a closely divided Supreme Court reinforced the Fed’s independence from the White House, protecting governors from being fired by the president without proof of wrongdoing.

Courts have interpreted “cause” to mean inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. Cook has argued that her alleged misconduct took place a year before her appointment and had nothing to do with her duties as Fed governor, and argued it therefore doesn’t meet that standard. The Supreme Court hasn’t ruled on whether the allegations against Cook, if true, would be sufficient grounds for removing her.

The president’s clearest power over the Fed is through filling vacancies on the board of governors and in placing some of those appointees in leadership positions, including the chair, on that body.

As chair, Powell in 2018 succeeded Janet Yellen, who later served as Treasury secretary under Biden. In appointing Powell, Trump broke from recent historical precedent in which new presidents reappoint the chair chosen by their predecessor. Biden reappointed Powell in 2021.

Presidents of both parties have tried to influence the Fed by applying pressure both publicly and privately. Historically, presidents have aired complaints in person — Lyndon Johnson summoned Fed Chairman William McChesney Martin Jr. to the president’s Texas ranch in 1965 to berate him for raising borrowing costs. President Richard Nixon in the 1970s famously applied pressure on then-Fed Chair Arthur Burns, which some economists believe led the central bank to refrain from taking forceful steps to rein in inflation at the time. During his first presidential term, Trump publicly lambasted the Fed and Powell when he disagreed with their interest-rate decisions.

Members of Biden’s administration largely refrained from speaking publicly about the central bank’s policy. But some Democratic members of Congress were less restrained. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, for instance, publicly called on the central bank to lower interest rates before it did so in September 2024.

During his tenure as chair, Powell emphasized that the Fed aims to be apolitical and consider only what’s best for the economy as it sets policy.

Yet the Fed is widely understood to operate in a political context. Fed leaders work closely with the Treasury Department, especially during times of crisis, and spend time networking with Capitol Hill lawmakers. The Fed’s decisions have to take into account the economic impact of decisions by both the president and Congress, such as tax cuts or large spending plans.

The argument for independence is that the economy will benefit more in the long run if investors and consumers believe that the central bank will do whatever is needed without fear of political consequences. Economic research shows that central banks with autonomy from government have a greater track record in controlling inflation.

Advocates of independent central banks say freedom from political pressure is what lets banks take necessary but sometimes unpopular steps, such as raising interest rates to fight inflation. In general, politicians like lower interest rates because making money cheaper helps people buy more t