Federal Reserve Independence

Updated2026-11-09 Covers2025-04 to 2026-10-30

Summary

From mid-2025 Trump called for lower interest rates and for Chair Jerome Powell to be removed.¹ On Aug 25, 2025 he announced he was removing Governor Lisa Cook. He pointed to claims that she had committed mortgage fraud.² The Senate confirmed Stephen Miran to the Fed’s Board of Governors.³ Miran was chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). He kept that job but took unpaid leave from it.⁶⁸ In January 2026, the Justice Department (DOJ) served the Fed with grand-jury subpoenas. A subpoena is a legal order to hand over documents or testify. Powell said the subpoenas threatened him with indictment, meaning a formal criminal charge.⁴,⁷¹ Lower federal courts blocked Cook’s removal.² They also cancelled the subpoenas.⁵ DOJ closed its investigation of Powell in April 2026.²⁰ In September the Fed’s inspector general, an independent watchdog inside the agency, found no grounds to believe a crime occurred.⁴⁹,⁶² On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Trump v. Cook that she may stay in office.³² The same day it overruled Humphrey’s Executor for other agencies. That older ruling had let Congress protect members of some agencies from being fired at will.⁶,³³ Kevin Warsh replaced Powell as chair in May 2026, and on Sept 16, 2026 he led a vote to raise interest rates.⁷ As of November 2026, the administration is trying a second time to remove Cook “for cause,” meaning for a valid reason. A hearing is set for Dec 14.⁸,⁵⁷

Background

Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. §242) sets rules for the Fed’s Board of Governors. Each governor serves a 14-year term. The terms are staggered, so they end at different times. The law says the President may remove a governor “for cause,” meaning for a good reason, not just at will.³,³⁴ CNN reported that, if it worked, this would be the first time a president fired a Fed governor in the central bank’s 111-year history.² Under Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935), the Supreme Court said Congress could limit the President’s power to remove members of independent agencies run by several members. In May 2025 the Supreme Court decided Trump v. Wilcox. Trump had removed, without cause, members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Lower courts had ordered them put back. The Supreme Court stayed those orders, meaning it paused them. It also set out a narrow exception for the Federal Reserve.⁹,³⁵ Justice Kagan disagreed with the ruling. She wrote that if the majority meant such members fell outside Humphrey’s, “it has foretold a massive change in the law.”⁹,³⁵

What happened

Pressure on Powell and the renovation probe

On Apr 17, 2025, a day after Powell warned that tariffs could raise inflation while slowing growth, Trump posted about him. Tariffs are taxes on goods coming into the country. Trump wrote that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough!” Later that day he said: “If I ask him to, he’ll be out of there.”⁴¹ On July 24 Trump toured the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters with Powell. Trump put its cost at “$3.1 billion.” The Fed’s figure was $2.5B. Powell said Trump’s figure included a building “finished five years ago.”¹² Trump was asked what he would do with a project manager who went over budget. He said: “I’d fire him!”¹² On Aug 1 he posted that the Board should take control of rate decisions away from Powell: “THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!”¹ On Sept 27 Trump posted a cartoon made with artificial intelligence (AI). It showed him telling Powell “YOU’RE FIRED!”¹⁶

On Jan 9, 2026 DOJ served the Fed with grand-jury subpoenas. A grand jury is a group of citizens who decide whether there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. The subpoenas were about what Powell told the Senate in June 2025 about the renovation.⁴ Powell gave a statement on Jan 11. He said the threat of indictment “is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”⁷¹ Former chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen put out a joint statement supporting him. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) sits on the Banking Committee. He said he would block Fed nominees until the probe ended.⁷² In a ruling dated Mar 11 and unsealed Mar 13, Chief Judge James Boasberg quashed the subpoenas, meaning he cancelled them. He found that their main purpose, in legal terms the “dominant purpose,” was harassment. He also found “no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President.”⁵ On Apr 14 federal prosecutors showed up at the Fed building without warning. In a Fox Business interview aired Apr 15, Trump threatened to fire Powell. The threat applied if Powell stayed on the Board after his term as chair ended May 15.¹⁹ Around Apr 24, the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro closed the probe.²⁰,⁷³ On Sept 30 the Fed’s Office of Inspector General issued a review of the renovation. Michael Horowitz leads that office. The review found failures in managing the project and controlling its costs. But it found no grounds to believe a federal crime had occurred. Warsh accepted its recommendations.⁴⁹,⁶² On Oct 2 Attorney General Todd Blanche said DOJ would not reopen the Powell investigation.⁴⁹,⁶³

Removal of Governor Cook

On Aug 15, 2025 Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), sent Attorney General Pam Bondi a criminal referral. A referral asks prosecutors to look into a possible crime. It alleged that in 2021 Cook had claimed two different homes as her primary residence, the home a person mainly lives in.¹³ On Aug 20 Trump called on Cook to resign. She said she would not be pressured over “some questions raised in a tweet.”⁶⁶ On Aug 25 Trump announced he was removing her. He cited the mortgage claims, which are about things that happened before she was appointed.² DOJ opened a criminal investigation on Sept 4.¹⁴ On Sept 12 Reuters reported on documents about her Atlanta condo. They showed Cook had called it a “vacation home” on loan and vetting forms.⁶⁷ On Sept 17 Bloomberg and CNBC reported on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In 2007 he had agreed that two homes would each be his principal residence. His lender said it knew both were second homes. The White House called the report “inaccurate,” and no action against Bessent has been reported.¹⁵

The Supreme Court ruled on June 29, 2026 (see Court rulings on removal below). After that, Trump said he would “take appropriate action immediately.”⁶ In the week of Aug 7 a letter started a new attempt to remove Cook. Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino signed it. It accused her of “gross negligence” and gave her three weeks to respond.²³ The letter lists alleged crimes that can bring up to 30 years in prison. But it argues that negligence alone is enough. Cook has never been charged. Her lawyer Abbe Lowell said “there is no valid cause.”²³ In a memorandum dated Oct 7, Trump created a “committee of inquiry.” It has three members: the assistant to the president for economic policy, the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the head of the Office of Government Ethics. It will hold a closed hearing, with a written record of everything said. DOJ staff may question Cook there. Then the committee will recommend whether there is cause to remove her.⁸,⁵⁷ Cook’s lawyers said they had “grave doubts” about whether the hearing is legitimate.⁸,⁵⁷ The hearing was first set for Nov 5, then moved to Dec 14.⁸,⁵⁷

Court rulings on removal

On Sept 9, 2025 Judge Jia Cobb of the federal trial court in Washington, D.C. (D.D.C.) issued a preliminary injunction. That is a court order that stops something until the case is decided. She found Cook “substantially likely” to show that the removal broke the Act’s “for cause” rule.² On Sept 15 the D.C. Circuit appeals court voted 2–1 to let Cook vote at the September meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC is the Fed group that sets interest rates. On Oct 1 the Supreme Court put off deciding the administration’s emergency request to let the removal take effect. It said it would wait until after oral argument in January 2026. It did not deny the request, but the delay left Cook in office.²

On June 29, 2026 the Supreme Court decided two cases about removing officials.⁶ In Trump v. Slaughter (6–3) it overruled Humphrey’s Executor.³⁶ It held that Congress cannot require cause, meaning a good reason, for removing officials who use executive power.⁶ In Trump v. Cook (5–4) it held that Cook may stay. The Court said a Fed governor’s for-cause protection includes a right to notice and a chance to respond. It said that accepting Trump’s position “would in effect transform the Federal Reserve’s for-cause protection into at-will employment.”⁶ At-will means a person can be fired for any reason. The ruling denied the administration’s request for a stay, meaning a pause of the lower court’s order. So it is temporary relief. Judge Cobb’s preliminary injunction stays in place while the case goes on.⁶,²,³²

Board appointments and the chair succession

On Aug 1, 2025 Governor Adriana Kugler sent in her resignation, effective Aug 8, which opened the seat Miran later filled.⁴²,⁶¹ The Senate confirmed Miran to the Board on Sept 15, 48–47.³ He kept his CEA job on unpaid leave. At his first meeting he dissented, meaning he voted against the decision, because he wanted a half-point cut.⁶⁸,⁶⁹ Miran was appointed to a term that ended Jan 31, 2026. He kept voting after that date as a holdover, meaning someone who stays until a replacement takes over.⁴³ On Dec 11, 2025, the Board, including Miran and Bowman, unanimously approved new five-year terms for the Reserve Bank presidents. The terms began Mar 1, 2026. Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic had announced he would retire at the end of his term (Feb 28, 2026).⁴⁴ A federal law (12 U.S.C. §341) says each Reserve Bank’s directors choose its president “with the approval of the Board of Governors.”⁴⁵

On Jan 30, 2026 Trump named Kevin Warsh as his choice to replace Powell.¹⁸ The Senate confirmed Warsh to the Board on May 12, 51–45, and as chair on May 13, 54–45.²¹,⁴⁷ He took the seat Miran had held. Miran resigned on May 14, effective when his successor was sworn in.⁴⁷,⁵⁸ On May 15 the Board named Powell chair pro tempore, meaning temporary chair, until Warsh was sworn in. It said this was “consistent with past practice.” Bowman and Miran said they “cannot support this action.” They wanted the role limited to a week to a month. After that, they wanted it made “subject to renewal by another vote of the Board or potential presidential action.”⁴⁷,⁵⁹ At Warsh’s May 22 swearing-in Trump said: “I want Kevin to be totally independent… Don’t look at me.”²¹,⁶⁰ Outgoing chairs usually leave the Board. But Powell, whose term as governor runs to January 2028, stayed on as a governor. He said he would stay until the DOJ probe was “well and truly over.”²¹ Because he stayed, there was no extra open seat for Trump to fill.²¹

Rate decisions

On Jul 30, 2025 the FOMC kept its target range for interest rates at 4.25–4.50%. Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller dissented because they wanted a quarter-point cut.⁴³ The FOMC cut the range to 3.75–4.00% on Oct 29. It cut again on Dec 10, to 3.50–3.75%. Miran dissented both times because he wanted a half-point cut. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid dissented both times because he wanted no change. Austan Goolsbee joined him in December.⁴³,⁵¹,⁵² The FOMC held rates steady on Jan 28 and Mar 18, 2026. Miran dissented for a cut each time. In January Governor Christopher Waller also dissented for a quarter-point cut.⁴³,⁵³,⁵⁴ The Apr 29 hold was 8–4. Miran dissented for a cut. Reserve Bank presidents Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan also dissented. They objected to the statement leaning toward future rate cuts.⁴⁶,⁶⁴ Warsh’s first meeting on June 17 kept rates at 3.50–3.75%.²² On Jul 29 the FOMC held at 3.50–3.75%. Hammack, Kashkari and Logan dissented because they wanted an increase.⁴⁸,⁶⁵ On Aug 28 Warsh said inflation readings over the summer had not shown meaningful improvement. He said rates might need to rise.²⁴ On Sept 16 the FOMC voted 12–0 to raise its target range to 3.75–4.00%. It pointed to inflation above its target and to energy price pressures from the Middle East.⁷ On Oct 28 it held rates by a 10–2 vote. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented because they wanted another increase.²⁵

FHFA and its inspector general

On Oct 30, 2025 about a dozen Fannie Mae ethics and investigations officials were fired. The Wall Street Journal reported that they had been looking into whether people working under Pulte improperly got the mortgage records of well-known Democrats.¹⁷ On Nov 3 Reuters reported that FHFA had removed its acting inspector general, Joe Allen. He was the office’s chief counsel, its top lawyer.³¹ On Sept 30, 2026 FHFA cut its inspector general’s funding for budget year FY2027 to $20M. The President’s budget had called for $55M.³¹,⁵⁵ Acting Inspector General James Hodge said the cut would mean staff cuts of up to 80%. He said it would also end the office’s criminal investigations.³¹,⁵⁵ On Oct 1 Democratic leaders including Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries and Elizabeth Warren called on Pulte to resign.³¹,⁵⁶

Federal statistics

The Fed’s decisions rely on federal statistics. The government froze hiring across agencies. Under that freeze, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collected fewer prices for its consumer price index (CPI) from April 2025. The CPI measures changes in the prices people pay. BLS also stopped collecting prices in three cities.¹⁰ On Aug 1, 2025 BLS put out a July jobs report. It lowered the May–June job figures by 258,000, and hours later Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Without citing evidence, he said she had “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election.”¹¹ Then came the 43-day government shutdown. Because of it, BLS could not go back and collect some October survey data. So on Nov 21 it canceled the October CPI. That report was not available for the Fed’s Dec 10 meeting.¹⁰,⁵⁰

Key dates

• 2025-04-17 — “Termination cannot come fast enough!” post — → ledger
• 2025-05-22 — Trump v. Wilcox Fed carve-out — → ledger
• 2025-08-01 — BLS Commissioner fired — → ledger
• 2025-08-15 — Pulte refers Cook to DOJ — → ledger
• 2025-08-25 — Cook firing and litigation — → ledger
• 2025-09-04 — DOJ opens criminal investigation of Cook — → ledger
• 2025-09-15 — Senate confirms Miran 48–47 — → ledger
• 2026-01-09 — DOJ grand-jury subpoenas served on the Fed — → ledger
• 2026-01-30 — Warsh nominated — → ledger
• 2026-03-13 — Boasberg quashes the Fed subpoenas — → ledger
• 2026-04-15 — Powell firing threat, prosecutors at Fed — → ledger
• 2026-04-24 — Pirro’s office drops the Powell probe — → ledger
• 2026-05-13 — Warsh confirmed; Powell stays — → ledger
• 2026-06-29 — Slaughter and Cook rulings — → ledger
• 2026-08 (week of 7) — Renewed Cook removal — → ledger
• 2026-09-16 — Fed raises rates — → ledger
• 2026-10-07 — Committee of inquiry on Cook’s removal created — → ledger

Why it matters

Removal of a governor (Art. II, §1; Federal Reserve Act §10, 12 U.S.C. §242). Two rules apply here. The first is Article II, §1, of the Constitution, which gives the President the executive power.³⁷ The President’s power to remove officials comes from it. The second is §10 of the Federal Reserve Act. It lets the President remove a governor only “for cause.” There are three legal questions. What counts as “cause”? Can private conduct from before she was appointed, with no criminal charge, count? And what steps must the President follow? The administration’s stated reason for the Aug 25, 2025 removal was the mortgage claims in Pulte’s referral. Its August 2026 letter says that “gross negligence” is enough.²,²³ On Sept 9, 2025 Judge Cobb found Cook “substantially likely” to show the removal was unlawful. On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. Cook that for-cause protection includes a right to notice and a chance to respond.²,⁶ No court has decided whether the committee process set up in October 2026 meets that rule. No court has decided whether the claims add up to cause. The committee has made no finding.⁸,⁵⁷ Trump’s 2025 statements about firing Powell were about his role as chair. The “for cause” rule in §242 covers governors. The Act sets no rules for removing someone from the chair role itself.³⁴,⁴¹

Independent agencies generally (Humphrey’s Executor; Trump v. Slaughter). In Trump v. Slaughter (2026) the Court overruled Humphrey’s Executor (1935). This followed its May 2025 stay order in Trump v. Wilcox. Other agencies run by several members are now presumed open to at-will removal, meaning the President can fire their members for any reason. These include the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the NLRB, the MSPB, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and others. Cook treats the Federal Reserve separately.⁹,⁶

Grand-jury subpoenas (Fed. R. Crim. P. 17). Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 17 sets the rules for grand-jury subpoenas. It lets a court cancel one that is “unreasonable or oppressive.”³⁸ The legal question was whether the subpoenas served a proper grand-jury inquiry into Powell’s June 2025 testimony. The record here does not include DOJ’s stated legal reason for the subpoenas, beyond their subject. In a ruling dated Mar 11, 2026, Chief Judge Boasberg found that their main purpose, in legal terms the “dominant purpose,” was harassment.⁵ April 2026 news reports said a prosecutor had acknowledged in March that the probe found no evidence of a crime. Pirro’s office closed it around Apr 24, and Tillis then lifted his hold on Fed nominees.¹⁹,²⁰,⁷³ In a review on Sept 30, 2026, the Fed inspector general found no grounds to believe a crime had occurred. Blanche said on Oct 2 that the probe would not reopen.⁴⁹,⁶²,⁶³

Miran’s dual role (Federal Reserve Act §10). The Federal Reserve Act’s staggered terms and for-cause protection set up how the Board is built. Miran held his CEA job while serving on the Board. No court, inspector general or congressional body has ruled on whether that fit the Act. His term ended Jan 31, 2026. He served as a holdover until Warsh took the seat in May 2026.⁴³,¹⁸,⁵³,⁵⁸

Mortgage referrals and oversight (Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. §552a; First Amendment). Pulte sent four mortgage-fraud referrals about people Trump had criticized. Cook was one. The others were Letitia James, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell. All four deny wrongdoing.²⁶,²⁷ Swalwell sued under the Privacy Act, a law that limits how the government may share personal records it holds. He also sued under the First Amendment, which protects free speech.³⁹,⁴⁰ He dropped the suit in March 2026.²⁷ The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’s auditing arm, opened an investigation of Pulte on Dec 4, 2025. Senate Democrats had asked it to.³⁰ FHFA’s Office of Inspector General has no Senate-confirmed inspector general. On Oct 30, 2026, the office told Congress of “unprecedented” obstruction. It pointed to records FHFA refused to give and to the budget cut. FHFA says it “delivered every document.”⁷⁰ The DOJ inquiries into Powell and Cook were among several DOJ investigations of people Trump had criticized (Prosecutions and Investigations of Trump Critics, Justice Department and FBI Personnel Changes).²⁸ Related: Inspectors General and Watchdogs (the Fannie Mae firings), Cabinet Financial Disclosures and Ethics Complaints (Bessent’s filings) and Withdrawn Studies and Deleted Federal Data (BLS).

Outcome

Where things stand

As of November 2026, Cook is still a voting governor. She dissented on Oct 28, 2026. A second attempt to remove her is pending before the committee of inquiry, which has made no findings.²⁵,⁸,⁵⁷ Warsh took Miran’s seat. Because Powell stayed, people Trump appointed do not hold a majority on the Board.¹⁸,⁴⁷ The FOMC cut rates twice in late 2025.⁵¹,⁵² Under Warsh it has held or raised them, with no cuts. In September 2026, the Fed raised rates. It projects one more increase in 2026.⁴³,⁷ Powell said most of the 2025 inflation above target was in the prices of goods. The Fed thinks that is related to tariffs. CPI reached 3.3% in March 2026, mainly because of energy prices after the Iran war began (Tariffs and Trade Policy, The 2026 Iran War).²⁹ Slaughter overruled Humphrey’s Executor, while Cook kept for-cause protection at the Fed.⁶ FHFA’s Office of Inspector General alleges obstruction (Oct 30, 2026), which FHFA denies. This came after FHFA cut the office’s FY2027 budget to $20M.⁷⁰,³¹,⁵⁵

Gaps: the record here does not include Trump’s reaction to Warsh’s rate increase. Two things are still pending: the Cook committee’s findings (after the Dec 14 hearing) and GAO’s report on Pulte.

Status

Who is affected

This story touches Federal Reserve governors whose jobs are protected by the Federal Reserve Act’s “for cause” rule. The main one is Governor Lisa Cook. It also touches Jerome Powell. The Justice Department (DOJ) sent him grand-jury subpoenas, and a court found their main purpose, in legal terms the “dominant purpose,” was harassment.²,⁵ The chair succession shaped who sits on the Board.²¹ Officials at other agencies run by several members lost their protection from being fired when the Supreme Court overruled Humphrey’s Executor.⁶ People named in Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) mortgage-fraud referrals were sent to prosecutors. Fannie Mae ethics staff were fired. FHFA’s inspector general had its budget cut.²⁶,¹⁷,³¹ People who use federal economic data, including the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), lost a month of consumer price index (CPI) data.¹⁰

• Governor Lisa Cook (first removal Aug 25, 2025, Blocked; second proceeding Pending) — Cook is still a voting governor. Judge Jia Cobb’s preliminary injunction and the Supreme Court’s June 29, 2026 ruling keep her in place, and she dissented Oct 28, 2026. The committee of inquiry’s hearing on the second removal was moved from Nov 5 to Dec 14, 2026. Cook has never been charged.²,⁶,²⁵,⁸,²³,⁵⁷
• Jerome Powell (grand-jury subpoenas, Blocked; DOJ probe, Concluded) — Chief Judge James Boasberg cancelled the subpoenas in a ruling dated Mar 11, 2026 and unsealed Mar 13. He found their main purpose, in legal terms the “dominant purpose,” was harassment. The probe closed around Apr 24. The Fed’s inspector general found on Sept 30, 2026 no grounds to believe a crime occurred. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Oct 2 that it would not reopen.⁵,²⁰,⁴⁹,⁶²,⁶³
• Board of Governors (chair succession, Concluded) — Kevin Warsh became chair in May 2026 in the seat Stephen Miran had held. Powell, whose term as governor runs to January 2028, stayed on the Board. So people Trump appointed do not hold a majority.²¹,⁴⁷,¹⁸,⁵⁸,⁶⁰
• Reserve Bank presidents (reappointments Dec 11, 2025, Concluded) — the Board, including Miran and Governor Michelle Bowman, unanimously approved new five-year terms beginning Mar 1, 2026. Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic had announced he would retire at the end of his term (Feb 28, 2026).⁴⁴
• Officials at other multi-member agencies (Humphrey’s Executor overruled June 29, 2026, Concluded) — in Trump v. Slaughter (6–3) the Supreme Court held that Congress cannot require cause for removing officials who use executive power. That leaves the Federal Trade Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board, Federal Communications Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and others presumed open to at-will removal.⁶,⁹
• People named in mortgage-fraud referrals (FHFA Director Bill Pulte’s referrals; Government Accountability Office (GAO) review Pending) — Pulte sent four referrals. They were about Cook, Letitia James, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, who all deny wrongdoing. DOJ opened a criminal investigation of Cook Sept 4, 2025. Swalwell sued under the Privacy Act and the First Amendment and dropped the suit in March 2026. GAO opened a review of Pulte Dec 4, 2025.²⁶,²⁷,¹⁴,³⁰
• Fannie Mae ethics staff (firings Oct 30, 2025, Unresolved) — about a dozen ethics and investigations officials were fired. The Wall Street Journal reported that they had been looking into whether people working under Pulte improperly got the mortgage records of well-known Democrats.¹⁷
• FHFA Office of Inspector General (FY2027 budget cut Sept 30, 2026, Unresolved) — funding fell to $20 million, against $55 million in the President’s budget. Acting Inspector General James Hodge said the cut would mean staff cuts of up to 80% and the end of the office’s criminal investigations. The office claimed “unprecedented” obstruction Oct 30, which FHFA denies. Reuters reported Nov 3, 2025 that FHFA had removed acting inspector general Joe Allen.³¹,⁷⁰,⁵⁵
• Users of federal price data (October 2025 CPI canceled Nov 21, 2025, Concluded) — under the government-wide hiring freeze, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collected fewer prices for the CPI from April 2025. It stopped collecting in three cities. The 43-day shutdown left it unable to go back and collect some October survey data. So it canceled the October report, which was not available for the FOMC’s Dec 10 meeting.¹⁰,⁵⁰
• BLS leadership (Commissioner Erika McEntarfer fired Aug 1, 2025, In force) — a July jobs report lowered the May–June job figures by 258,000, and hours later Trump fired her. Without citing evidence, he said she had “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election.”¹¹

Key players

• Jerome Powell — Fed Chair (to May 2026), now a governor — subject of Trump’s removal threats and of DOJ grand-jury subpoenas, which a court cancelled on Mar 13, 2026.²¹,¹⁹,⁵
• Lisa Cook — Fed Governor — challenged her removal; the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that she may remain.⁶
• Bill Pulte — FHFA Director (from 2025) — sent the mortgage-fraud referral concerning Cook.¹³
• Kevin Warsh — Fed Chair (from May 2026) — has presided over rate holds and one increase.²²,⁷
• Stephen Miran — CEA Chair who also served as a Fed Governor (Sept 2025 to May 2026) — dissented in favor of larger cuts.³,⁶⁹,⁵¹,⁵²
• Michelle Bowman — Fed Vice Chair for Supervision — dissented for a cut in July 2025 and, with Miran, opposed the terms of Powell’s temporary chair role.⁴³,⁴⁷,⁵⁹
• Michael Horowitz — Fed inspector general — his office’s Sept 30, 2026 renovation evaluation found no grounds to believe a crime occurred.⁴⁹,⁶²
• Dan Scavino — Deputy Chief of Staff — signed the renewed Cook removal letter.²³
• Scott Bessent — Treasury Secretary (from 2025) — Bloomberg and CNBC reported that his 2007 mortgage filings resembled those cited against Cook.¹⁵

Chronology

• 2025-26 (throughout) — Truth Social as governance channel — → ledger
• 2025-04 — BLS cuts CPI price collection under hiring freeze — → ledger
• 2025-04-17 — “Termination cannot come fast enough!” post — → ledger
• 2025-05-22 — Trump v. Wilcox Fed carve-out — → ledger
• 2025-07-24 — Renovation tour with Powell — → ledger
• 2025-07-30 — FOMC holds; Bowman and Waller dissent for a cut — → ledger
• 2025-08-01 — BLS Commissioner fired — → ledger
• 2025-08-01 — “THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL” post — → ledger
• 2025-08-01 — Governor Kugler resigns, opening Miran’s seat — → ledger
• 2025-08 (mid) — Pulte referral pipeline — → ledger
• 2025-08-15 — Pulte refers Cook to DOJ — → ledger
• 2025-08-20 — Trump demands Cook resign; Cook refuses — → ledger
• 2025-08-25 — Cook firing and litigation — → ledger
• 2025-09-04 — DOJ opens criminal investigation of Cook — → ledger
• 2025-09-12 — Reuters: Cook declared Atlanta condo a “vacation home” — → ledger
• 2025-09-15 — Senate confirms Miran 48–47 — → ledger
• 2025-09-16 — Miran sworn in, keeping CEA post on unpaid leave — → ledger
• 2025-09-17 — Miran dissents for a half-point cut at his first meeting — → ledger
• 2025-09-17 — Bessent’s parallel mortgage pledges — → ledger
• 2025-09-27 — “YOU’RE FIRED!” cartoon — → ledger
• 2025-10-29 — FOMC cuts to 3.75–4.00%; Miran dissents — → ledger
• 2025-10-30 — Fannie Mae ethics officials fired — → ledger
• 2025 (late) — DOJ probes of Trump foes incl. Powell — → ledger
• 2025-11-03 — FHFA removes acting inspector general Joe Allen — → ledger
• 2025-11-13 — Pulte refers Swalwell to DOJ — → ledger
• 2025-11-21 — BLS cancels October CPI — → ledger
• 2025-12-04 — GAO opens investigation of Pulte — → ledger
• 2025-12-10 — FOMC cuts to 3.50–3.75%; Miran dissents — → ledger
• 2025-12-11 — Reserve Bank presidents reappointed — → ledger
• 2026 (Q1) — Inflation tracker — → ledger
• 2026-01-09 — DOJ grand-jury subpoenas served on the Fed — → ledger
• 2026-01-11 — Powell’s video statement on the subpoenas — → ledger
• 2026-01-12 — Former Fed chairs defend Powell; Tillis vows hold on Fed nominees — → ledger
• 2026-01-28 — FOMC holds; Miran and Waller dissent — → ledger
• 2026-01-30 — Warsh nominated — → ledger
• 2026-03-13 — Boasberg quashes the Fed subpoenas — → ledger
• 2026-03-18 — FOMC holds; Miran dissents as holdover — → ledger
• 2026-03-20 — Swalwell drops Privacy Act suit against Pulte; says DOJ never acted on referral — → ledger
• 2026-04-15 — Powell firing threat, prosecutors at Fed — → ledger
• 2026-04-24 — Pirro’s office drops the Powell probe; Tillis lifts hold — → ledger
• 2026-04-29 — FOMC holds 8–4 — → ledger
• 2026-05-13 — Warsh confirmed; Powell stays — → ledger
• 2026-05-14 — Miran resigns — → ledger
• 2026-05-15 — Powell named chair pro tempore; Bowman and Miran object — → ledger
• 2026-05-22 — Warsh sworn in at the White House — → ledger
• 2026-06-17 — Warsh’s first FOMC holds — → ledger
• 2026-06-29 — Slaughter and Cook rulings — → ledger
• 2026-07-29 — FOMC holds; three dissents for a hike — → ledger
• 2026-07-30 — Q2 GDP slows; July FOMC hold — → ledger
• 2026-08 (week of 7) — Renewed Cook removal — → ledger
• 2026-08-28 — Warsh signals hikes at Jackson Hole — → ledger
• 2026-09-16 — Fed raises rates — → ledger
• 2026-09-30 — FHFA cuts its inspector general’s budget to $20M — → ledger
• 2026-09-30 — Fed inspector general’s renovation evaluation — → ledger
• 2026-10-01 — Democratic leaders call on Pulte to resign — → ledger
• 2026-10-02 — Blanche: Powell probe will not reopen — → ledger
• 2026-10-07 — Committee of inquiry on Cook’s removal created — → ledger
• 2026-10-28 — Fed holds; Cook dissents for hike — → ledger
• 2026-10-30 — FHFA inspector general alleges obstruction — → ledger

Sources