Published by Fox Business | August 11, 2024
Vance's remarks come after former President Trump said the president should 'have at least [a] say' over Fed policy moves
Former President Trump’s vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said on Sunday that he backs Trump’s call for presidents to have a say in the Federal Reserve board’s policy-making process, including decisions about raising interest rates, saying those should be “political decisions.”
Vance made his remarks in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program after Trump on Thursday said he thinks the president “should have at least [a] say in there” when the Fed makes monetary policy moves.
“I agree with him,” Vance said of Trump. “That should fundamentally be a political decision. Agree or disagree, we should have America’s elected leaders having input about the most important decisions that confront our country.”
Vance added that it would be “a huge change” to move away from the long-held stance that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions should be made independently of political influences from elected officials.
He emphasized that in his and Trump’s view, the president should “not direct” monetary policy and added, “To be clear, President Trump is saying, I think, something that’s really important and actually profound, which is that the political leadership of this country should have more say over the monetary policy of this country.”
“If the American people don’t like our interest rate policy, they should elect somebody different to change that policy. Nothing should be above democratic debate in this country when it comes to the big questions confronting the United States,” Vance said.
Trump spoke during a Thursday press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and said “the president should have at least [a] say in there” and added, “I think that in my case, I made a lot of money, I was very successful, and I think I have a better instinct than in many cases, people that would be on the Federal Reserve or the chairman.”
When Trump was in office, he frequently attacked the Fed’s policymaking decisions and the central bank’s leadership.
