Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called out the Federal Reserve on Monday, blasting Chair Jerome Powell’s stewardship and demanding an institution-wide review of the central bank’s performance, bloated bureaucracy, and disturbing deviation from its core mission.
“What we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful,” Bessent said during CNBC interview. “If this were the [Federal Aviation Administration] and we were having this many mistakes, we would go back and look at why has this happened.”
Bessent specifically torched the Fed for its elitist groupthink and catastrophic predictions on tariffs and inflation.
“They were fear-mongering over tariffs, and thus far we have seen very little, if any, inflation. We’ve had great inflation numbers. So, you know, I think this idea [is] of them not being able to break out of a certain mindset. All these Ph.D.s over there, I don’t know what they do.”
BREAKING: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demands a THOROUGH REVIEW of the “ENTIRE Federal Reserve System.”
YES. Audit the Fed.
“All these PhDs over there, I don’t know what they do!”
“What we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution, and whether they… pic.twitter.com/MZYVGG2ay6
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 21, 2025
Later, Bessent took to X to double down, releasing a scathing statement demanding a full-scale institutional audit — not just of monetary policy, but of the Fed’s ever-growing empire of unchecked influence and wasteful expenditures.
“Today in a CNBC interview, I called for a review of the Federal Reserve. It is my belief that the central bank should conduct an exhaustive internal review of its non-monetary policy operations. Significant mission creep and institutional growth have taken the Fed into areas that potentially jeopardize the independence of its core monetary policy mission.
As I have said many times, the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy “is a jewel box” that should be walled off to preserve its independence. This independence is a cornerstone of continued U.S. economic growth and stability.
However, this autonomy is threatened by persistent mandate creep into areas beyond its core mission, provoking justifiable criticism that unnecessarily casts a cloud over the Fed’s valuable independence on monetary policy.
While I have no knowledge or opinion on the legal basis for the massive building renovations being undertaken on Constitution Avenue, a review of the decision to undertake such a project by an institution reporting operating losses of more than $100 billion per year should be conducted.
The Fed does regular reviews of its monetary policy framework. I would urge Fed leadership to similarly undertake, publish and implement a comprehensive institutional review across its entire mission to buttress its credibility. It will go a long way towards strengthening the Fed’s credibility with the American people on its core mission of guiding our nation’s monetary policy.”
Today in a CNBC interview, I called for a review of the Federal Reserve. It is my belief that the central bank should conduct an exhaustive internal review of its non-monetary policy operations. Significant mission creep and institutional growth have taken the Fed into areas that…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 21, 2025
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