Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on Elon Musk’s claim that the central bank is bloated. He was asked about it during a press conference Wednesday.
Musk, head of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), made the claim last month. “The Fed is absurdly overstaffed,” he posted on X.
FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence brought up Musk’s remark. He questioned Powell after the Fed announced it would hold interest rates steady.
“We run a very careful budget process,” Powell said. “We owe that to the public, and we believe we do that. I’ve got no further comment on that, thanks.”
Musk has criticized the Fed before. In May 2024, he called the Fed’s workforce “crazy high.”
Last summer, he slammed the central bank for delaying interest rate cuts. “The Fed needs to drop rates,” he posted in August. He called it “foolish” not to have acted sooner.
The Fed did cut rates in September as inflation cooled. It was the first cut since March 2020.
The bank lowered the federal funds rate by 50 basis points in September. Smaller 25-basis-point cuts followed in November and December. But it paused cuts this month due to economic uncertainty.
Trump established DOGE by executive order last week. Its goal is to slash government waste and increase transparency.
Musk has proposed major cuts. These include simplifying the tax code, auditing the Pentagon, and ending remote work for federal employees. He also wants to modernize IT systems and protect Social Security and healthcare benefits.