Maintaining stability is key to the economy. That's getting harder.
Apr 22, 2025•8 min
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Summary
This episode explores the Federal Reserve's critical job of stabilizing the economy and its commitment to independence, particularly under Chair Jerome Powell. It details President Trump's public attacks and threats against Powell following the Fed Chair's comments on the negative economic impact of tariffs. The discussion covers the challenges this political pressure and the trade war pose for the Fed's ability to manage inflation and growth, referencing the IMF's gloomy forecast and market reactions.Episode description
What does it take to keep the economy stable?
That is a question that Jerome Powell considers every day in his role as Chair of the Federal Reserve. It's also a role that is meant to be done independent of politics.
However, Powell's name has been making headlines, following a series of comments made by President Trump attacking Powell, after he warned that the President's aggressive tariff policies could hurt the economy.
President Trump has been threatening to fire Powell, something he backed away from Tuesday afternoon.
As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, all this is further rattling financial markets, making Jerome Powell's task of keeping the economy stable even harder to do.
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That is a question that Jerome Powell considers every day in his role as Chair of the Federal Reserve. It's also a role that is meant to be done independent of politics.
However, Powell's name has been making headlines, following a series of comments made by President Trump attacking Powell, after he warned that the President's aggressive tariff policies could hurt the economy.
President Trump has been threatening to fire Powell, something he backed away from Tuesday afternoon.
As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, all this is further rattling financial markets, making Jerome Powell's task of keeping the economy stable even harder to do.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
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