JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Warns Interfering With Fed Would Push Up Rates

Jamie Dimon on Tuesday defended the Federal Reserve after it was subpoenaed by the Justice Department, saying that “anything that chips away” at the central bank’s independence “is not a good idea.”

Dimon, speaking with reporters after JPMorgan Chase issued its fourth-quarter earnings results, said political interference with the Fed would cause inflation and interest rates to go up, contrary to President Trump’s stated goal of getting rates to go lower. Dimon’s remarks came after Fed Chair Jerome Powell disclosed over the weekend that he was being investigated by the Justice Department.

The 69-year-old chief executive and de facto leader of the nation’s finance executives has been defending Powell and the Fed from attempts at political interference for months, both publicly and privately to the president.

Dimon also said Tuesday that he didn’t think the Fed was infallible and had made mistakes.