The Federal Reserve's closed-door meeting had previously decided to compromise with the Trump administration to uphold the central bank's independence

On December 23, The Washington Post published an article headlined “Fed under Trump Leadership Maintains Independence Strategy,” noting that 12 regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents held a closed-door meeting in Philadelphia in spring 2025 to discuss a highly sensitive issue: whether to reduce the Fed’s staff by roughly 10% in response to the Trump administration’s federal government downsizing push. Some regional Fed presidents pushed back against the proposal, arguing it could undermine the central bank’s operational capacity. However, the discussion’s outcome was a decision by Fed senior leadership to partially comply with some of the administration’s requests—aimed at easing political pressure—to better safeguard the Fed’s independence in core decision-making and avoid direct confrontation. In May 2025, Fed Chair Jerome Powell sent an internal memo to staff announcing a roughly 10% workforce reduction over the next several years (including by the end of 2027), slashing the headcount from roughly 24,000 to about 22,000.