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

The treasury secretary called for ‘an honest, independent, nonpartisan review of the entire [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 warped financial markets, rewarded asset holders, and eroded 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.