January 12, 2026· 33 min

The Fight Over Fed Independence Just Got Taken To a Whole New Level

Lev Menand

Orality

Model

65%

Oral-dominant (speeches, podcasts, storytelling)

Speaker Breakdown

HostJoe Weisenthal(1,177 words)

M:29%

HostTracy Alloway(1,341 words)

M:29%

GuestLev Menand(2,601 words)

M:28%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic43%

literally, completely, certainly

Engagement53%

you, our, your

Memory Aids100%

listen, now, like

Repetition100%

know (74x), like (43x), about (36x)

Parallelism88%

And I'm Joe Wiesenthal...., And how many emergency episode..., And they keep happening on wee...

Sound Patterns49%

29 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"

Formulaic Phrases7%

i mean, the bottom line

Literate Indicators

Hedging11%

may, apparently, might

Passive Voice15%

been served, be fired, is threatened

Abstract Nouns28%

investment, recommendation, business

Subordination5%

though, because, until

Sentence Length47%

Avg: 16.8 words/sentence

Word Complexity50%

investment, analyze, anticipate

Academic Markers5%

according to

Impersonal Style47%

311 personal pronouns found

Descriptive Style82%

literally, completely, apply

Description

Even before Trump's victory in 2024, it was becoming clear that the Fed would come under political pressure like never before. The first year of the new administration bore that out. Not only had Fed Chairman Jerome Powell come under tremendous pressure over interest rate policy and the cost of office renovations, Trump has tried to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The Cook case will soon be argued in front of the Supreme Court, but now we have another earthquake. On Sunday night, the news broke that Powell had been served with a subpoena from the DOJ, raising the potential for criminal charges. Powell himself, who has assiduously tried to avoid the controversy, blasted the move as a form of revenge for the administration's displeasure with his interest rate policy. So where does this leave us now? On this episode, we speak with Lev Menand, a professor at Columbia Law School at the author of the Fed Unbound. He explains where things sit not with Fed independence, and why the DOJ's role here takes the fight to a whole new level. Read more: Dollar Drops Most in Three Weeks as Fed Gets Subpoenas ‘Sell America’ Trade Is Revived by Trump’s Latest Fed Attack Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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