Trump's Fed chair pressure has reached a 'disturbing' new level: analysis

President Donald Trump has put even more pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in an escalation of tensions, a political analyst has claimed.

Trump has been attempting to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for months, primarily over monetary policy disagreements. Trump has repeatedly called for Powell to lower interest rates significantly, but Powell has insisted that rates remain elevated to combat inflation.

When unable to remove Powell directly by law, Trump pressed for a criminal investigation into Powell through U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office, alleging mismanagement of Federal Reserve headquarters renovation costs.

MSNow analyst Duncan Levin wrote, "Many American presidents have wanted a more compliant Federal Reserve. And President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against Fed Chair Jerome Powell has taken tactics to a disturbing level — further eroding the Justice Department’s traditional independence.

"Simply put, prosecutors were never meant to be part of a president’s plan to break the Fed. A criminal investigation is supposed to determine whether a crime occurred. It is not supposed to become a cloud kept in place because the cloud itself is useful."

The investigation has backfired spectacularly for Trump as it blocks confirmation of Trump's replacement nominee, Kevin Warsh, effectively prolonging Powell's tenure rather than ending it.

Levin added, "And the criminal investigation is hanging over more than Powell. Trump has named Kevin Warsh as his choice for the next Fed chair.

"But Powell has said he intends to remain on the Fed board until the investigation is over, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has said he will not vote to confirm Warsh until the DOJ’s probe of Powell is closed. The unresolved criminal probe has become entangled with the leadership transition.

"Prosecutors wield extraordinary authority. That authority is justified by the expectation that it will be used for law-enforcement purposes, not as a political instrument against independent actors the president wants removed.

"This situation has all the problems that accompany selective prosecution as well as the more subtle but equally corrosive use of unresolved criminal process to wear down resistance, damage credibility and make institutional independence more difficult to sustain."

Doubling down on a recent podcast where she excoriated MAGA influencers who are reveling in the attention given to them for turning on Donald Trump, longtime conservative commentator S.E. Cupp pointed out that she got death threats for opposing the president after he took office in 2016 so they get no grace from her.

During an appearance on CNN's “Table for Five,“ Cupp launched into an extensive rant aimed at newly minted Trump critics like Megyn Kelly and ex-Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), accusing them of “buyer's remorse.”

“I have been out in these streets since 2015 opposing this un-American, anti-democratic, fascistic garbage,” she began. “And while at the same time, these people that they're mentioning, the Marjorie Taylor Greene’s, that name them, the long list have been defending it [MAGA] for fun, for money, for clicks, for fame.”

Adding “Not all converts are the same,” she continued, “It's not just for Democrats to decide [acceptance]. It's for never-Trumpers who are conservative as well, to decide we should not be aligning with people who are losers, liars and grifters who have only come to see the light, because either it's politically expedient or it's profitable or whatever.”

“For the professional liars, losers and grifters? No, we don't want you!” she exclaimed. “And just because you've come to where we have been for ten years, doesn't mean you get to use us to launder your reputations — not happening on my watch. And I don't like this conversation where it's like, ‘well, shouldn't we give them credit?’ No, no, no credit, no credit. It's the 11th hour. It's the 11th hour of this and he is a lame duck. He has gone in two years, what took you so long?”

“This is personal,” she admitted. “I've gotten death threats. I have lived this life at the expense of my profession, the expense of friendships, at the expense of money. I've done it. It's been hard, but it's my conscience telling me to do it. You don't get to flip a switch and say I don't like him anymore.”

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The Supreme Court's internal disagreements have spilled out into a public display, according to a report profiling the ongoing tensions.

The Supreme Court has experienced significant internal friction in recent weeks, marked by heated disputes between liberal and conservative justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has publicly criticized Justice Brett Kavanaugh over his handling of immigration cases and civil rights protections. Sotomayor condemned Kavanaugh's concurrence supporting immigration stops based on ethnicity and language, calling his reasoning insufficient.

Sotomayor would later apologize publicly to Kavanaugh, whose office did not issue a response to the initial criticism or apology to follow. Analysis from Wall Street Journal columnist James Romoser reads, "As the Supreme Court barrels toward the final stretch of a politically explosive term, its private tensions are surfacing in public.

"A series of blunt remarks by three justices in recent days has offered a glimpse into strained personal relationships, ideological divides and internal alarm over how the court is making key decisions.

"Such candid airing of friction is unusual at the court, where personal discord is normally kept behind closed doors and legal disagreements are rendered in the formal language of written dissents.

"The remarks all come as the court is under pressure both from its caseload and from President Trump, who has frequently disparaged the justices in recent weeks."

Despite the frayed internal relationship for the Supreme Court, there is a sense that the judicial body will still prove to be a problem for Donald Trump.

The New York Times's Ross Douthat said, "So, most likely there’ll be some victories for Trump, but there’ll be two really large defeats — birthright citizenship and tariffs. Both are very big issues. Birthright citizenship is more important to the Republican base or the conservative base. Tariffs are obviously close to Trump’s own heart.

"A year ago there was a lot of conversation, including on this show, about what it would take for Trump to defy the court. In practice, you’ve had a sequence of setbacks for the president that have been met by angry tirades on social media. Some attempts to do end-arounds. But basically, Trump has accepted the power of the court to block him."

During his speech at a sparsely attended Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix on Friday night, Donald Trump started riffing on UFOs and “unexplained aerial phenomena,” which had the entire panel on MS NOW’s “The Weekend” both baffled and amused.

The president, as is his habit, jumped from topic to topic, eventually settling on UFO’s, telling the crowd, “I think I'm doing the best job of anybody, really. I recently directed the Secretary of War to begin releasing government files relating to UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena.”

He then added, “I figured this was a good crowd because I know you people, you're really into that. I don't know that I am, I thought I'd save it for this crowd because you're a little bit out there.”

Following the clip, co-host Jonathan Capehart had a puzzled look on his face, paused and then offered, “Yes, if you missed it, Trump bragged. We are. We are, quote, ‘Ending wars all over the place,’ with just one little exception. The president also took aim at NATO, calling it, quote, ‘absolutely useless’ and returned to familiar grievances on immigration and trans-athletes.”

Turning to guest Dana Milbank from NOTUS, he brought up the UFO comments.

"I mean, we were chuckling over the UFO files,” he began as Milbank interrupted with “The UFO files, I am with him on that.”

“I think if I had had the kind of week that this president had had with Iran, with inflation, with the Pope, I too would be talking about UFOs,” Milbank added. “It didn't begin with that. I mean, I know JD Vance was saying they're all demons, in fact. So the aliens are in fact demons, so this predates.”

“So this has been building. I mean, we're going to blow the lid off of this one,” he joked. “Clearly a distraction. 100% approval rating; distraction is urgently needed.”

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