The Federal Reserve’s political independence — the sense that the world’s most powerful central bank makes decisions based on economic conditions, not short-term political considerations — is a critical national asset. President Donald Trump is eroding it in ways that could be bad for the country and his own agenda.

The president hasn’t named a successor to Jerome H. Powell, but his insistence on someone who will lower interest rates has already raised doubts about their credibility.

Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac Chairman William Pulte issued a similar statement amid reports that Powell was considering his resignation.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell is resisting President Donald Trump’s calls for lower interest rates, saying the Fed should not take debt and deficits into account.

President Trump and his allies have accused the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, of misleading Congress in what some legal scholars worry is a prelude to seeking his removal.

Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump’s longest-serving economic adviser, is a leading contender to become the next Federal Reserve chairman, a position with significant influence over interest rates and the US economy.

His comments follow President Donald Trump’s intensified criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, accusing him of undermining the US economy with high interest rates, while simultaneously unveiling sweeping new tariffs targeting Canada, the European Union, Mexico, and Brazil.

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked an inspector general to review the cost of the central bank's building renovations that White House officials have attacked as “ostentatious.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the White House is looking into whether it has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

President Trump has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cause if evidence supports that, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Sunday, and that the Fed “has a lot to answer for” on renovation cost overruns at its Washington headquarters.