A Botched Fed Transition Is a Stain on Independence

Jerome Powell’s tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve is winding down, and the Kevin Warsh era is nigh. But President Donald Trump seems intent on intimidating Powell until the bitter end, making the transition as difficult and volatile as possible. That malicious impulse will cause lasting institutional damage to the world’s most important central bank.

Justice Department officials made an unannounced visit on Tuesday to the central bank’s offices as part of an ongoing investigation into cost overruns related to building renovations, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The latest salvo is just another chapter in a thinly veiled effort to punish Powell for not lowering policy rates, as Trump would prefer, despite now rising headline inflation. The officials were turned away from the active construction site over safety and clearance protocols, Bloomberg News reported.