Overview

• Trump blasted The Wall Street Journal’s report that Bessent cautioned him against removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, calling the story “typically untruthful” and asserting he alone understands market dynamics.
• Scott Bessent denounced the WSJ article as based on incomplete leaks and emphasized that President Trump solicits multiple inputs but makes final decisions independently.
• In a CNBC interview Bessent proposed examining the Federal Reserve’s overall performance, citing concerns over the $2.5 billion headquarters renovation and its management.
• Former Fed chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen wrote in The New York Times that political interference with the central bank could undermine its independence and stoke inflation.
• The White House continues to explore legal grounds to remove Powell “for cause” over cost overruns while Trump pursues a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.