GOP Senator Cautions Trump on Independence, “Let’s Each Do Our Job”

In the face of President Donald Trump’s unwavering criticism of the Federal Reserve for not lowering interest rates and his attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, those loyal to Trump including Vice President JD Vance insist that such actions are “driven by law and not by politics.”

Not all Republican lawmakers agree with Trump’s attempt to fire the Fed Governor, which was met with a lawsuit filed by Cook, who has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing. (Trump claims she committed mortgage fraud years ago.)

On Sunday, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press that like the executive branch and Congress, “the Federal Reserve is at its best when it’s independent but they’re not independent of the entire American people.”

He emphasized that the Federal Reserve is part of a collaborative approach to the economy.

When asked to clarify his opinion and answer the question “Do you think it’s important that the Federal Reserve be independent?”, Lankford answered in the affirmative and added a pitch for legislative branch independence in support of the idea.

“I do think it’s important that they’re independent,” the Senator said. “I also think it’s important for the President to do that, and Congress to do that as well. Let’s each do our job.”

Trump’s attempts to break with protocol and directly influence the Federal Reserve’s decisions would impact the global economy, experts say. Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank warned that a shift could pose a “very serious danger” for the world economy.

Lagarde said: “If US monetary policy were no longer independent and instead dependent on the dictates of this or that person, then I believe that the effect on the balance of the American economy could, as a result of the effects this would have around the world, be very worrying, because it is the largest economy in the world.”