Economy, Jobs and Trade

Federal Reserve independence

23 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: The Fed's interest rate decisions affect what you pay on mortgages, car loans and credit cards, and how fast prices rise.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether the Federal Reserve should keep setting interest rates without direction from the president, or whether elected officials should have more say; its governors serve 14-year terms and can be removed only for cause, and in 2026 the Supreme Court refused to let the president's firing of a governor take effect while her lawsuit goes on.¹

Give the president more say over interest rates and Fed leadership
Keep rate decisions independent but add audits or more oversight by Congress
Keep the Fed's current independence

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Keep rate decisions independent but add audits or more oversight by Congress (2)

"Clay" Higgins LA-3
His campaign website's 2016 Issues page says the Federal Reserve must be fully audited by Congress and forced into transparency.²
Mark Cohen NE-3
His campaign website says he supports an independent central bank and an independent audit of the Federal Reserve, saying independence is not immunity from oversight.³

Keep the Fed's current independence (2)

Bill Foster IL-11
His campaign website says he is proud to have been part of efforts to maintain the independence of the Federal Reserve.⁴
Michael A. Chiaradio MS-3
His campaign website says the Federal Reserve should be kept free from politics so that the economy is guided by economic conditions rather than short-term political pressure.⁵

Statements that don't match one option (19)

Jeff Wadlin AR Senate
His campaign website says the Federal Reserve needs clearer rules and more accountability, with price stability as its main duty and a published rules-based benchmark it must explain any major departure from.⁶
Steve G. Parsons AR-1
His campaign website says the Federal Reserve should drop the goals Congress gave it in 1977 (maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates), focus on keeping the banking system sound, and be sharply limited in its ability to create money, such as by a rule tying money-supply growth to economic growth.^7,8
Chad Humphrey CO-1
His campaign website calls for ending the Federal Reserve, and lists defunding the IRS and the Fed among his top priorities.^9,10
Joseph "Dr. Joe" Arminio DE-AL
His campaign website blames Wall Street and the Federal Reserve for the buildup of private debt and criticizes the Federal Reserve independence adopted in 1951 at Wall Street's urging.¹¹
Kat Cammack FL-3
Her campaign website says she cosponsored the Federal Reserve Transparency Act to provide a full audit of the Federal Reserve.¹²
Matt Loesby ID Senate
His campaign website says he would push to audit and then end the Federal Reserve.¹³
Pro-Life ID Governor
His campaign website says a strict reading of the Constitution would allow only gold and silver coin as money, calls for an audit of the Federal Reserve and says the Federal Reserve should be abolished.^14,15
Drew Cranmer KS-4
His campaign website says he supports auditing the Federal Reserve with full transparency.¹⁶
Jeremy Todd KY-4
His campaign website says he supports restoring sound money and ending the ability of central banking institutions to devalue the currency through inflation, and its taxes page calls for ending the Fed.¹⁷
Dave Wallace MD-2
His campaign website says he would introduce and be lead sponsor of a Gold Standard Act to restore the gold standard, which it says would restrain the Federal Reserve and protect the dollar's buying power.¹⁸
Moshe Y. Landman MD-6
The Green New Deal page on his campaign website lists nationalizing the Federal Reserve Banks and placing them under a Monetary Authority within the Treasury Department.¹⁹
Ronald A Muszynski MI-5
His campaign website lists ending the Federal Reserve, along with auditing the gold reserves and balancing the budget, among its main issues under the heading Monetary Debasement.²⁰
Mike Saliba MI-10
His campaign website says he seeks a thorough investigation and audit of the Federal Reserve and says the Fed's arbitrary, closed-door power to create money and credit for commercial interests should end, and that he pledges to support the Gold Standard Restoration Act, which it says would require the Treasury to fix the dollar's value at a set weight of gold.^21,22
Rebecca Whiting MN Senate
Her campaign website says she wants to end the Federal Reserve and dismantle the central banks.²³
Shannon W. Bray NC Senate
His campaign website supports greater transparency and oversight of monetary policy and opposes a government-controlled digital currency.²⁴
Jack Codiga NC-12
His platform page says the Federal Reserve should be abolished, with its oversight placed under the U.S. Treasury, and that the country should go back to a currency backed by assets such as gold and silver.²⁵
Edmond Laplante NH Senate
His campaign website says the Federal Reserve and other federal entities operate with little transparency or oversight, and calls for full transparency and accountability for federal agencies.²⁶
Robbie Mahrou NH-2
His campaign website says he supports H.R. 24, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, which he describes as requiring a complete outside audit of the Federal Reserve.²⁷
Ted Brown TX Senate
His campaign website says he supports a full, independent audit of the Federal Reserve, followed by winding it down and returning control of money to Congress.²⁸