Fed Independence Is Powell’s Priority in Final Months as Chair

A few months ago, something very unusual happened at the Federal Reserve, though only seasoned central bank watchers likely sensed this particular disturbance in the force. At the December meeting on interest rates, the vote was split 9-3. Nine members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee (including Chair Jerome Powell) elected to lower the benchmark by a quarter percentage point, and two others dissented in favor of no reductions. President Donald Trump’s appointee, Stephen Miran, also dissented, because he thought economic conditions warranted a much bigger whack.

This kind of disagreement is rare at the central bank, ...