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The Federal Reserve's independence is under threat. Why does that matter?

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published January 12, 2026 at 12:01 PM EST

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The Federal Reserve Chair logo appears on a podium at the Federal Reserve, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the threat of criminal charges against him is a sign of the Trump administration trying to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.

Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan speaks with Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama, about what this latest move from Trump signals about the independence of the Federal Reserve.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.