GOP furious Trump-appointed Fed chair cut interest rates 'this close to an election'

18 Sep 2024, 20:51 by https://www.facebook.com/17108852506 · AlterNet

Image via lev radin/Shutterstock.
David Badash
September 18, 2024

In recent years Republicans have been accused of making up rules or redefining existing practices and policies across at least a dozen areas – including voting rights and gerrymandering, their use of the debt ceiling as a “bargaining chip,” and the conservative U.S. Supreme Court’s “shadow docket,” all to push through their agenda or gain a short or long-term advantage.

For example, in 2016 then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell infamously refused to allow even a hearing on President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland. He falsely claimed it was a “rule,” but in 2020 apparently rescinded the non-existent rule when President Donald Trump nominated his third Supreme Court Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation process was rammed through in near-record time, despite the COVID pandemic – just before the election Trump would go on to lose.

Fast forward to today.

According to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), there apparently is another never-before-heard-of practice that says the Federal Reserve cannot lower interest rates before an election.

And he is outraged.

To tame inflation and protect the U.S. economy, Fed Chairman Jerome “Jay” Powell Wednesday afternoon, after signaling for months a rate cut would be coming, and after four long years of interest rate increases and holding rates at a two-decade high, for the first time since the COVID pandemic hit announced he is lowering interest rates by a half-point, as Bloomberg reported.

“Hard to see how #Trump can keep saying #Biden has brought us the ‘worst economy ever’ — yesterday the Dow broke ALL records, hitting 41,622.08,” remarked Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Laurie Garret. “And now that the Fed has cut interest rates by 0.5% the Dow is climbing higher. #Bidenomics has worked:
– record high employment
– inflation heading to 2%
– interests rates down, forcast by FED to possibly go below 4% by January
– equity markets are record highs”

Powell’s decision comes after his judicious, and some have lamented far-too-slow, responses to economic conditions. Many experts had not only predicted a rate cut months earlier, but weeks ago when the jobs report came out worse than some expected, some economists and top U.S. lawmakers fearing recession, demanded Powell call a special session to immediately cut rates by three-quarters of a point.

Not Senator Tuberville.

“The Fed’s drastic rate cut is shamelessly political,” the former college football coach and freshman lawmaker, who once was unable to name the three branches of government, declared just after Powell’s announcement. “Our nation’s central bank has no business moving rates this close to an election and is clearly trying to tip the balance in favor of Kamala Harris.”

As many responded, mocking the 70-year old Republican senator, Donald Trump nominated Powell, a Republican, to the chairmanship in 2018.

He was confirmed in an 84-13 vote, “one of the widest margins of confirmation for a Trump nominee,” The Hill reported at the time. “Nearly all Republicans and a vast majority of Democrats supported Powell’s confirmation.” In 2022, President Biden re-nominated Powell to a second term, despite strong criticism from the left flank of his party. He was confirmed in another strong bipartisan vote, 80-19.

Senator Tuberville is not alone in his criticism.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also expressed his dissatisfaction.

“The timing is a little suspect,” the GOP Speaker said, according to Capitol Hill reporter Jamie Dupree. Johnson’s remark flies in the face of Powell having been extremely transparent in his intentions.

“The European Central Bank has cut rates twice over the past three months,” remarked The Majority Report’s Emma Vigeland. “Inflation is at its lowest since early 2021. The real question is why Powell, a Trump pick Biden idiotically kept on, didn’t cut rates when we knew corporate [price] gouging was what was keeping prices high.”

“Everyone knew a cut was coming at this regularly scheduled meeting,” added political commentator Brian Normoyle.

“First off, Powell is a Trump appointee,” remarked former U.S Ambassador Luis Moreno. “Secondly, this has been talked about and predicted for months as the inflation data kept going down. Jonson should be worried about keeping the government running and stop auditioning for his master in Mar a Lago.”

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) joined Senator Tuberville and Speaker Johnson.

“GOP Sen. Ron Johnson told me the Fed should have waited until after the election to cut interest rates,” reports Semafor congressional reporter Joseph Zeballos-Roig, “but they didn’t because ‘they’re political.'”

Fox News also suggested the decision was political. Chairman Powell “shut down Fox’s question about election-driven ‘political motivations,'” Media Matters reported.

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