Two-thirds of Americans say the Federal Reserve should make decisions independently from President Trump’s influence, according to the latest CBS News/YouGov poll.
The survey, conducted in early September, shows 68 percent of Americans support the Fed’s independence from Trump, while 32 percent say it’s best if the Fed makes its decisions guided by what Trump wants.
The results show a clear split by party affiliation, with 91 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents saying it’s best if the Fed makes decisions without Trump.
A majority of Republicans, at 59 percent, say the Fed should be guided by what Trump wants, compared to 41 percent who say it should function independently.
That view is driven by those in the party who identify as “MAGA Republicans”— 67 percent of whom say the Fed should be guided by what Trump wants, while only 33 percent say decisions should be made independently from Trump.
Among non-MAGA Republicans, 53 percent say the Fed should be independent from the president’s influence, while 47 percent say the Fed should listen to what Trump wants.
The president for months has pressured Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, as Powell has remained adamant in his independence. Trump also moved recently to fire Lisa Cook as a Fed governor, citing allegations of mortgage fraud, but she has sued to block her termination, which she says is without cause.
The poll was conducted on Sept. 3-5 and included 2,385 U.S. adults. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points.
