• Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire backer of newly minted President-elect Donald Trump, backed the idea of ​​allowing presidents to intervene in Federal Reserve policy.
• Musk’s comment came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he would not resign from his position if Trump asked him to.
• Over the course of the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump often flirted with the idea of ​​having a say in Federal Reserve policy if he were to win the White House again.

tesla and the CEO of SpaceX Elon Muskthe billionaire supporter of the new president-elect donald trumpsupported the idea of ​​allowing presidents to intervene in Federal Reserve policy.

Responding to a Thursday social media post by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, calling for the Federal Reserve to be under the president’s direction, Musk on Friday posted the “100” emoji used to convey agreement.

Senator Lee had punctuated his post with “#EndtheFed.”

Although brief, Musk’s comment reflects a broader pressure campaign on Fed independence that could take shape in the incoming Trump administration.

On Thursday, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell saying he wouldn’t quit from his position if Trump asked him to. That marked the resurgence of what could once again become a contentious relationship between the Federal Reserve chair and the president-elect.

The Fed’s tradition of independence is intended to give the central bank the ability to shape monetary policy decisions (such as raising or lowering interest rates) based solely on the future health of the U.S. economy.

But during his first term, Trump had no qualms about breaking with tradition and publicly disparaging Powell and her policy decisions.

During the course of the 2024 presidential campaign, Triumph He also often flirted with the idea of ​​having a say in Federal Reserve policy if he won the White House again.

“I think the president should have at least something to say about it,” Trump said in August at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “I think in my case I made a lot of money, I was very successful, and I think I have better instincts than, in many cases, the people who would be on the Federal Reserve or the president.”