Bessent Calls for Curb on Fed Authority, Accuses It of Distorting Economy

The treasury secretary called for ‘an honest, independent, nonpartisan review’ of the Federal Reserve.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters during a briefing at the White House in Washington, on April 29, 2025. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ramped up his criticism of the Federal Reserve on Sept. 5, accusing it of running risky “gain-of-function” monetary experiments that warp financial markets, reward asset holders, and erode the central bank’s independence.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, and a longer essay and interview for The International Economy, Bessent said the Fed should be stripped of its bank-supervision powers, forced to scale back its use of unconventional monetary tools, and returned to a narrow focus on interest rates and inflation.