US Treasury Secretary criticizes the Federal Reserve's independence crisis and calls for an independent review.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bernat harshly criticized the Federal Reserve for "mission creep" endangering its own independence, and called for an independent review of the institution, including its monetary policy. In a commentary published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Bernat wrote, "The core of independence lies in credibility and political legitimacy, both of which have been undermined by the Fed's overstepping of its mandate." This article expands on Bernat's consistent argument that the Fed has engaged in "mission creep" with its monetary policy experiments. He criticized the Fed for injecting too much stimulus through quantitative easing after the 2007-09 financial crisis and for over-regulating the banking system. Bernat said, "Unconventional policies like quantitative easing should only be used in true emergencies and coordinated with other federal government departments." After repeatedly urging Fed Chairman Powell to conduct internal reviews of non-monetary policy functions, Bernat has expanded his vision for an investigation into the Fed. He stated, "There must also be an honest, independent, non-partisan review of the entire institution, including monetary policy, regulation, communication, personnel, and research."