The U.S. Federal Reserve will face a significant risk of losing its independence to ramped-up political interference if former U.S. President Donald Trump is elected to lead the country again, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
In the poll, 44% of respondents said they expect Trump to seek to politicize the central bank or limit its power if he returns to the White House. Overall, they put a probability of 40% on the Fed losing its autonomy under a second Trump administration.
A push to roll back the central bank¡¯s independence ¡ª a step that would face significant hurdles ¡ª would likely rock financial markets, undermining investors¡¯ faith in the Fed as overseer of the world¡¯s largest economy and exposing it to political pressure to cut interest rates. That concern would be especially acute now, when the central bank is keeping its benchmark rate at a more than two-decade high to curb inflation and prevent the economy from overheating.
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