A new investigative report from O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) revealed that the chair of the Federal Reserve has a habit of drifting from finances and striving to influence social issues.
The independent citizen journalism group, founded by veteran undercover reporter James O’Keefe, shared the report on April 10, drawing attention to the apparent political antics of the nation’s core monetary system. The video features a principal economist from the Federal Reserve detailing how chair Jerome Powell is working to have a legacy that involves keeping former president Donald Trump in line and taking interest in racial and equity issues.
BREAKING, INSIDE THE FEDERAL RESERVE: Hidden Camera captures Principal Economist @federalreserve talking about Jerome Powell’s legacy as “somebody who held the line against like, Trump.” The influential agency responsible for maintaining a stable monetary system appears to not… pic.twitter.com/5CqZX2LhwT
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) April 10, 2024
Speaking to an undercover journalist posing as a date, Aurel Hizmo said that Powell hoped to be remembered as “somebody who held the line against like, Trump,” who the economist described as “a crazy person.” He added that the Reserve has “changed,” especially in its growing concern for “equity issues” and “racial issues” that have become a focal point along with “inequality as part of the mandate, as part of the things we are following.”
Hizmo, a former assistant professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University with an economics PhD from Duke University, also shared that the nation’s monetary system “think[s] about climate change.” The economist told the undercover OMG journalist that he assists with writing speeches for Powell when he presents for the Federal Open Market Committee.
The reporter also asked if Powell—who the economist said wants to be remembered as “a savior” who helps the nation—“gets along with” President Joe Biden, to which Hizmo responded, “he does.” The economist explained that the Biden administration “wouldn’t want the interest rates to go lower” and also “doesn’t want inflation,” adding that the Reserve has been “increasing rates for a little while.”
Hizmo later said that the hatred Trump has for Powell “is mutual” and that the chair of the Reserve, though nominated by the former president during his term in the White House, “didn’t” decrease interest rates in line with the commander-in-chief’s request. Rather than lower rates to boost the economy, Powell was “doing the opposite [of] what Trump wanted.”
Powell was appointed by Trump and began his stint as the chair of the Reserve in 2018. During a 2019 interview, then-president Trump criticized his appointee’s work, saying he “raised interest rates too fast.” The former president also said at the time that he is “not happy with [Powell’s] actions” and that he has “not done a good job,” despite Trump’s overall confidence in the strength of the economy.
