The Federal Reserve Board of Governors convened Tuesday for its two-day Open Market Committee meeting amid what is likely the darkest storm of criticism the central bank has ever faced. President Donald Trump has put the board under intense pressure to boost the economy by lowering interest rates, even attempting to change out the personnel on the semi-independent board. The Fed enjoys little trust from the public, so much so that some members of Congress have introduced legislation to abolish it.

One factor that set the hearts of officials racing was the uncertain status of Board Governor Lisa Cook. Trump attempted to fire Cook, a Biden nominee, arguing that alleged mortgage fraud was sufficient grounds for removal. On September 9, District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the alleged wrongdoing was not sufficient grounds, but the Trump administration appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

On Monday night, a split panel of the circuit court ruled against the Trump administration. The court’s opinion did not touch whether mortgage fraud was grounds for removal but simply held that the administration likely violated Cook’s due process because “it provided Cook no meaningful notice or opportunity to respond to the allegations against her.” The administration plans to appeal again, but the ruling allowed Cook to participate in the meeting, literally hours before it was scheduled to begin.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration managed to replace another face around the boardroom table. In August, another Biden nominee, Adriana Kugler, resigned from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. As her replacement, Trump quickly nominated Stephen Miran, current chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. The Senate confirmed Miran on Monday night in a tight 48-47 vote.

With Miran on the Board, four out of the Federal Reserve Board’s seven governors have been appointed by Republican presidents (by Trump, in fact). Partisan politics do not usually play a role in the Fed’s deliberations, which largely concern technical details of economic forecasting. But Trump’s attempts to intervene in the board’s decisions throw all such standard rules of thumb into question.

In fact, for months, Trump has been waging a persistent pressure campaign against the Fed, branding Board Chairman Jerome Powell with unflattering nicknames and publicly floating the idea of replacing him before his term expires (it seems he settled for trying to replace Cook instead, or at least first).

Trump’s argument is that the Fed is “too late” to lower interest rates, which he believes is necessary to unleash the full potential of the American economy. For its part, the Fed has been concerned that the inflationary conflagration that blazed in 2022 may not be quite extinguished, and that tariff price increases may breathe new life into it.

Ironically, the Fed may indeed cut interest rates at its September meeting — but only because concerns about poor job creation now outweigh its concerns about lingering inflation.

The Federal Reserve holds an awkward position in the U.S. federal government. Although its members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, they hold extraordinarily long 14-year terms, and they are often insulated from political pressure. In a May ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court distinguished the Fed from other independent agencies, describing it as a “uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.” The Federal Reserve also holds considerable economic power over interest rates and the money supply, although its policy mandate is technically defined by Congress.

This combination — minimal accountability and considerable power — leads many Americans to distrust the Federal Reserve. In a Pew Research poll last year, the Federal Reserve placed 17th in a favorability rating of 20 government agencies, with a net favorability of +13 percentage points. That was before the Fed was caught in Trump’s general overhaul of government agencies. A September 2025 YouGov poll found that only 52% of Americans trust the Federal Reserve to keep the economy out of recession, compared to 48% who didn’t trust it or were unsure.

Of course, skepticism and political pressure campaigns toward the Fed are nothing new. Trump is not the first president to turn his fire on the ostensibly independent agency, although he is the first to attempt to fire a governor. In the last century, Presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson both exerted significant political pressure on the Fed. President Andrew Jackson successfully killed a precursor to the Federal Reserve in 1832.

Some members of Congress would go as far as Jackson. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) have both introduced legislation to abolish the Fed.

However, there are much less extreme solutions, such as reforming its mandate or constraining its activity in certain cases. The Federal Reserve is not likely to go away anytime soon, but it has found itself mired in an uncomfortable coating of controversy. For an agency that works best in the background, that’s never a good sign.