In acceptance remarks published by the Federal Reserve Board, Governor Jerome H. Powell, speaking in a personal capacity while receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, restated the case for keeping Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions insulated from politics. He said the public should expect the Fed to act only on its best economic analysis of what would most benefit Americans, not on the fortunes of any political party or politician, and warned that removing Fed officials over policy differences would undermine public confidence and destroy the central bank's credibility. Powell said Congress deliberately built legal protections around the Fed's monetary policy role, including long terms for Board governors and Reserve Bank presidents, protection against removal, Senate confirmation for Board appointments, and no role for administrations in selecting or overseeing the 12 Reserve Bank presidents. He linked those safeguards to the Fed's ability to provide economic and financial stability through monetary policy, bank regulation and supervision, payments system operations, and emergency liquidity tools, framing the point within broader remarks on the rule of law and the preservation of public institutions.
Federal Reserve Board2026-05-31
Federal Reserve Board's Jerome Powell defends legal protections insulating Fed monetary policy from political pressure
The Federal Reserve Board published remarks by Governor Jerome H. Powell, speaking in a personal capacity, reaffirming that monetary policy decisions must remain insulated from politics and based solely on economic analysis. He warned that removing Federal Reserve officials over policy disagreements would erode public confidence and destroy the central bank’s credibility, and highlighted statutory safeguards around governors’ and Reserve Bank presidents’ terms and appointments as essential to promoting economic and financial stability.