Episode 116 – This One Goes Up to 11 - Pressure on the Federal Reserve

Current Account with Clay Lowery

In this episode of Current Account, Clay is joined by Don Kohn, the Robert V. Roosa Chair in International Economics and a Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution, to discuss recent developments and the overarching role of the Federal Reserve - the central bank of the United States.

Don and Clay begin with the traditional importance of the Fed's independence from elected officials before analyzing how prior administrations have seemingly pressured it to varying degrees, what impact these pressures have on the risk of inflation, ongoing discussions, including historic dissenters, around Fed policy, what upcoming personnel changes - including a new Chair in 2026 - the Fed will have to endure, how the Fed may approach the rest of the calendar year and much more.

Programming Note: Current Account will return from summer break in September.

This IIF Podcast was hosted by Clay Lowery, Executive Vice President, Research and Policy, with production and research contributions from Christian Klein, Digital Graphics and Production Associate and Miranda Silverman, Senior Program Assistant.