00:00We have this Bloomberg scoop, this reporting around Donald Trump and the president and his allies specifically doubling down to
00:06reshape the Fed in his liking, if you will.
00:11What do we know about that?
00:14So the message here is that the political pressure on the Fed hasn't gone away, David.
00:20We've had a couple of things going on this week.
00:22We had a Supreme Court ruling in favour of Governor Lisa Cook, who's fighting to hold on to her job.
00:30She can stay as her job as Fed Governor for now while she fights allegations of mortgage fraud that the
00:36White House has put against her.
00:37She denies those charges.
00:39But that ruling was a pretty narrow victory for Governor Cook and by extension for the Fed.
00:45And President Trump and his officials have been out very publicly and vocally making the point that they will renew
00:52and pursue their case against Governor Cook in this legal case with the aim of removing her from the board.
01:01And secondly, our colleagues reporting tonight that the White House focus also remains on Governor Jerome Powell, former chair, of
01:09course, who is remaining on the board, even though his term his chair is finished.
01:13He's allowed to stay on the board until 2028.
01:15But his staying on, which has been seen as a sign of a way to protect the Fed's independence and
01:21in some ways to protect himself, he's been subject to a lot of scrutiny and attacks by the White House.
01:26But his staying on is also making him a target for the White House.
01:30And the point being that the administration officials that my colleagues have spoken to are looking for ways to essentially
01:37mould or remould the Fed's governing board to get a majority on it.
01:42You share their worldview, which is, of course, one for lower interest rates.
01:46There's also a search going on for the president of the Atlanta Fed, which is also kind of getting some
01:51scrutiny from the White House as part of his broader story.
01:54But, you know, the point is that the political pressure on the Fed, even though it seems to have quietened
02:00down with new chairman Kevin Walsh taking over, hasn't gone away.
02:02And as I say, our colleagues reporting that the White House is determined to continue to look for ways to
02:08get some of its own supporters onto the Fed's board.
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