US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Fed must re-establish its credibility

United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the Federal Reserve (Fed) must re-establish its crediblity and trust with the American people during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, published on Friday. This comes on the heels of a devastating Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report that shows the US economy added just 22K new jobs in August, a stomach-churning plummet in hiring that has been laid almost entirely at the feet of the Trump administration's trade tariffs and potentially Constitution-violating immigration crackdowns.

Key highlights

Central bank must recommit to maintaining the confidence of the American people.
To safeguard future and the stability of the US economy, the Fed must re-establish its credibility as an independent institution.
There must be an honest, independent, non-partisan review of the entire institution, including monetary policy, regulation, communications, staffing, and research.
Looking ahead, the Fed must scale back the distortions it causes in the economy.
When the Trump administration shifted toward tax cuts and deregulation, the Fed's forecasts were too pessimistic.