As the monetary policy-making authority in the United States, the "independence" of the Federal Reserve has always been an important institutional guarantee. The Fed's decisions not only have a major impact on the U.S. economy, but also have an impact on the global economy and financial markets.

Since this year, Trump has repeatedly asked the Federal Reserve to cooperate with it to take interest rate cuts to stimulate the U.S. economy. For this, Trump has continuously pressured key figures of the Federal Reserve, and has threatened to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and board member Lisa Cook. At the Jackson Hall conference last week, a large number of gunshipped soldiers and police appeared on the scene, completely breaking the atmosphere of calm before the meeting.

Senior Wall Street reporter Nick Timilow said on the 24th that Trump would take "just two steps" to take full control of the Federal Reserve, which has never been so fragile and challenged as a "institutional firewall" since its inception in 1913.

Armed military police appeared

Jackson Hall Annual Meeting

The Federal Reserve held its annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Seminar last week in Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming. On August 22, Powell delivered a speech at the conference, which attracted much attention from the market.

This tradition has started since 1978. The Federal Reserve meets in Jackson in late August every year, inviting global monetary scholars and policy makers to discuss the topic of central bank governance. As a resort, Jackson has spectacular scenery. Senior Federal Reserve officials and visiting guests from afar can stroll and chat in Grand Teton National Park, and the atmosphere is calm and relaxed. Since many important figures will speak at this academic policy seminar, the media also called this meeting the "Federal Reserve Annual Meeting".

¡ø On August 23, 2025 local time, before the morning meeting of the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Seminar, U.S. Park Police stood guard in the lobby of the Lake Jackson Inn. Source/Visual China

But this year, the previous calm atmosphere has been completely shattered. According to reports, compared with previous years, security measures for this year's conference activities have been significantly strengthened, which has increased the tension at the rally site. Officers from the U.S. Federal Police, National Park Police and the Teton County Sheriff's Office were always present, and some were "wearing military uniforms and carrying guns and weapons." Such a level of security was unimaginable in previous years.

On the morning of 22 local time, Trump¡¯s fanatical supporter, James Fischbach, rushed into the venue and shouted loudly in the hotel hall against Fed Chairman Cook. Cook was the first black female board member in the history of the Fed, and she was recently under Trump¡¯s strong pressure. Trump called for her dismissal from board positions because of Cook¡¯s two mortgages. Eventually, because of the conflict being too intense, the scene police took Fischbach away.

Senior reporter:

Trump is two steps away from full control of the Federal Reserve

In the Federal Reserve¡¯s governance structure, the seven-member board occupies a crucial position. Trump is known to have called for the dismissal of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, but he will still be a member of the board even if Powell is actually dismissed.

¡ø On August 22, 2025 local time, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell walked in Teton National Park near Jackson Hole Photo Source/Vision China

Nick Timilaus, a senior Wall Street journalist, believes that Trump is still two steps away from fully controlling the Federal Reserve: that is, ensuring that his confidant Stephen Miran (the founder of the Mar-a-Lago Accord plan) successfully takes office, and firing Cook and replacing him with his own candidate.

Members of the Fed's board of governors need to be nominated by the president and confirmed by a vote of the Senate for a 14-year term, and the president has no power to dismiss any member of the board if there are no "major criminal facts."

Among the seven currently in the board, only Bowman and Wallace were nominated by Trump during the first term, and the rest were nominated by the Democratic presidents (Obama or Biden). Bowman and Wallace also acted "loyally" and both voted unusual opposition at the last budget meeting, demanding an immediate interest rate reduction by the Fed. In addition, President Cook resigned this month, and Trump immediately nominated Milan to fill the gap. According to the arrangement, the Senate will vote at the September meeting.

Mr. Trump's nominees failed a Senate vote in his first term because of tax evasion, sexual harassment scandals and a lack of monetary policy experience. If Mr. Milan were to formally become a member of the board, Mr. Trump's direct family would take three seats.

On August 23, 2025, the Fed Chairwoman, Lisa Cook, arrived at the morning meeting of the Jackson Hall Economic Policy Seminar.

Once that is done, Trump needs only to name one more person to gain a majority on the Fed board. To that end, Trump has recently seized on the qualifications of Cook's two pledged loans, hoping to establish the fact that he has committed "serious crimes" so that he can replace his own direct line after firing Cook.

Timilaos commented that in the past, the Federal Reserve received a lot of market returns because of its insistence on policy independence. Because investors believe that the Fed makes decisions based on economic data indicators rather than political pressure, they will "buy" the currency value of the US dollar. Once Trump completes full control and the Federal Reserve completely obeys political pressure rather than scientific decision-making, the value base of the US dollar will be greatly weakened.

According to CCTV news reports, European Central Bank President Lagarde said in an interview with US media on the 24th local time that the independence of the central bank is "decisive" and warned that any interference with its independence may bring serious consequences. She made the above statement against the backdrop of US President Trump's recent repeated pressure on the Federal Reserve.

Red Star News Press Release

Edited by Jan.