Ritchie Torres Questions Treasury Secretary Bessent on Presidential Authority Over Federal Reserve

Presidential Authority Over the Federal Reserve

• ❓ Congressman Ritchie Torres questioned Treasury Secretary Bessent on whether the President has the constitutional authority to remove the Federal Reserve Chair or board members solely due to a policy disagreement.
• 🤷 Bessent stated he is not a lawyer and declined to offer an opinion, deferring to potential Supreme Court rulings and noting varying opinions within the administration.
• 🏛️ When asked if the unitary executive theory applies to the Federal Reserve, Bessent again deferred, stating "we'll have to wait and see."
• 🤝 Torres established that the Federal Reserve is considered an independent agency, thus independent of presidential control, and stressed the importance of maintaining its credibility.

Impact of Trump Tariffs on Manufacturing

• 📉 Torres presented data from the Wall Street Journal suggesting that US factory construction has not increased as claimed, and that the US has seen a net loss of manufacturing jobs since April 2025.
• 📊 The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was below 50 (indicating contraction) for nine consecutive months following April 2025, despite the stated objective of the Trump tariffs to boost domestic production.
• ❓ Torres questioned whether the administration regrets imposing tariffs on goods that cannot be produced domestically at scale in the US, citing bananas and coffee as examples without national security rationales.
• 🗣️ Bessent defended the use of tariffs as negotiating leverage to lower tariffs from other countries, arguing against the notion that it was foolish to impose them on goods without domestic substitutes.