Powell indirectly rebutted criticisms made by Bessent and others who have said the central bank is largely to blame for Trump’s challenges to its independence. (For example, in a lengthy essay published this month, Bessent cataloged alleged misdeeds by Fed policymakers in the years following the 2008 financial crisis, including “mission creep” and “institutional bloat.”) Powell briefly reviewed how both the 2008 crisis and the 2020 pandemic had compelled the Fed to take rare measures to limit the risks of far more damaging economic outcomes. The punchline: “Despite these two unique, extremely large shocks, the U.S. economy has performed as well or better than other large, advanced economies around the world." https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/powell-describes-rates-as-modestly-restrictive-keeping-door-open-to-cuts-397ac3f7?st=P3QYUk&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink(Nick Timiraos)