Former President Urges Fed To Sway The 2020 Election Against Trump

Former New York Fed President Bill Dudley urged the Fed not to help Trump and to potentially sway the 2020 election against him.

Dudley wrote in Bloomberg

I understand and support Fed officials’ desire to remain apolitical. But Trump’s ongoing attacks on Powell and on the institution have made that untenable. Central bank officials face a choice: enable the Trump administration to continue down a disastrous path of trade war escalation, or send a clear signal that if the administration does so, the president, not the Fed, will bear the risks — including the risk of losing the next election.

There’s even an argument that the election itself falls within the Fed’s purview. After all, Trump’s reelection arguably presents a threat to the U.S. and global economy, to the Fed’s independence and its ability to achieve its employment and inflation objectives. If the goal of monetary policy is to achieve the best long-term economic outcome, then Fed officials should consider how their decisions will affect the political outcome in 2020.

Dudley’s argument is that the Fed can’t remain apolitical, because Trump has politicized the Federal Reserve. The Fed has a choice. Do they enable Trump to drive the economy off the cliff by cutting interest rates, or do they put the country first and make it clear that Trump is responsible for the economic damage? If Trump’s reelection presents a threat to the US economy, then the Fed needs to consider how their decisions will impact the 2020 election.

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The former New York Fed president was correct. The institution can’t allow itself to be scapegoated by Trump. Donald Trump is a master at bullying those who he believes can’t fight back. Trump will cause institutional damage to the Fed if left unchecked, which is why for the good of the country, the Fed can’t aid Trump’s recession creating impulses.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association