Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans says the Federal Reserve needs to maintain distance from political concerns.
“It’s very important that the monetary authority have some degree of independence from political pressure because a lot of times, we have to take actions that people running for office next week or next month or next year wouldn’t want to take," he said.
He said Fed Chairman Paul Volcker’s decision to hike interest rates to 18 percent to stave off hyperinflation in the early ‘80s is one good example of the importance of maintaining this distance.
President Donald Trump has pressed current Fed chair Jay Powell publicly to aggressively lower interest rates to boost economic activity.
