Elizabeth Warren has warned that Donald Trump’s efforts to control the Federal Reserve “undermines America all around the world”, as the Democratic senator outlined her party’s future direction. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington DC, the Massachusetts senator condemned the US president’s latest attempt to weaken the central bank’s independence, after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell.
“He’s saying, ‘I want to put my hands on the dials on monetary policy,’ and Jerome Powell and some of the Fed have resisted him and have said, very calmly, that they’re going to continue to look at the economic data,” Warren said. “What Trump is trying to do is terrible for our economy but it undermines America all around the world.” She added that the Fed had been the “gold standard” for data-driven monetary policy, and that Trump was “burning that to the ground”.
In a speech focused on the Democratic Party’s future ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Warren argued that the party must build a “sturdy big tent” but cannot simply attack Trump. “A Democratic party that worries more about offending big donors than delivering for working people is a party that is doomed to fail,” she said. She stressed the need to earn “long-term, durable trust” by taking on the wealthy and well-connected, and focusing on lowering costs for average families.
After the speech, Warren said she spoke with Trump by phone. “I told him that Congress can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he will actually fight for it,” she stated. “I also urged him to get House Republicans to pass the bipartisan Road to Housing Act, which passed the Senate with unanimous support and would build more housing and lower costs.” She also noted that Democrats could learn from Trump’s campaign rhetoric on lowering costs, but that his policies had instead increased them, giving Democrats an opportunity to hold him accountable.
