Bessent says Fed needs exhaustive review of non-monetary policy operations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday called on the Federal Reserve to conduct an exhaustive review of its non-monetary policy operations to ensure that “mission creep” does not jeopardize the independence of its core monetary policy mission.

In a posting on X, Bessent said the Fed’s autonomy “is threatened by persistent mandate creep into areas beyond its core mission, provoking justifiable criticism that unnecessarily casts a cloud over the Fed’s valuable independence on monetary policy.”

Bessent also said a review should be conducted into the Fed’s decision to launch a massive building renovation project at a time when it is posting operating losses. He did not say who should conduct that review.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chris Reese)