We will be making changes to the site’s hosting today and should be able to post the 2026 outlook tomorrow.

In the meantime, CNBC’s Sarah Eisen just had an interesting conversation with former Fed Chair Janet Yellen regarding Trump’s continuing effort to fire current Fed Chair Jerome Powell:

“I find it extremely chilling for Fed independence. The notion that he lied in his testimony…knowing Chair Powell as well as I do…the odds that he would have lied are zero. So, I do believe they’re going after him because they want his seat and they want him gone. I’m surprised the market isn’t more concerned, it seems to me that the market should be concerned.”

She also commented on Trump’s campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.

“You have a president that says the Fed should be cutting rates to lower payments on the Federal debt…completely disagree with that. It is the road to a banana republic.”

Yellen cited examples of other governments such as Argentina, Turkey and Venezuela which have pursued a similar path in the past. These governments, because of mismanagement and bad fiscal policy, had to rely on their central banks to monetize the debt and then you get hyperinflation.

Trump faces an important roadblock from within his own party to replacing Powell. Yesterday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he would block any Trump appointee to the Fed until the matter is resolved.

“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,

I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved,”

Update: 10:40 am  Statement on the Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve’s independence and the public’s perception of that independence are critical for economic performance, including achieving the goals Congress has set for the Federal Reserve of stable prices, maximum employment, and moderate long-term interest rates. The reported criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence. This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly. It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.

UPDATED SIGNATORIES

Ben Bernanke – two-term Chair of the Board of Governors of the Fed, and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.

Alan Greenspan – five-term Chair of the Board of Governors of the Fed, first appointed by President Ronald Reagan and then reappointed by Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. He also was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Gerald Ford.

Janet Yellen – 78th Secretary of the Treasury under President Joe Biden, Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Fed, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton, and President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Henry Paulson – 74th Secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush.

Tim Geithner – 75th Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama, as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Robert Rubin – 70th Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton, and first director of the White House National Economic Council.

Jason Furman – Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama.

Phil Gramm – Texas senator and Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee

Jacob Lew – 76th Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama.

Glenn Hubbard – Chair of Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.

Jared Bernstein – Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Joe Biden.

Greg Mankiw – Chair of Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.

Christina Romer – Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama.

Ken Rogoff – Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics at Harvard University and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

 

note: FWIW, eight are Republicans and six are Democrats