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Odd Lots · Friday, July 17, 2026

The Fed's 'Endangered Species' Status: Court's Rulings Undermine Agency Independence

Lev Menand expresses concern that the Supreme Court's recent decisions, while carving out an exception for the Federal Reserve's independence, have de-legitimized the concept of nonpartisan administration across the board. He argues that the Fed is now an 'endangered species' within the administrative state, making its independence precarious and dependent on the current court's composition.

personLisa CookpersonClarence ThomascompanyFederal Reserve

The tape

3 quotes
Now the FED is not safe. This is not a good situation that the FED has found itself in. The FED is an endangered species.
Lev Menand
The Cook decision is five to four, and there are only two out of nine justices that think the outcome makes sense. So seven justices think differently.
Lev Menand
And that's the idea of like with you know, giving state charter banks the ability to issue bills of credit, you're delegating a power you have no right to deal.
Nathan Tankus
Heard on Odd Lots — “Lev Menand and Nathan Tankus on Why Fed Independence Is Now Hanging by a Thread, published Friday, July 17, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via publisher transcript · $0.00
The Fed's 'Endangered Species' Status: Court's Rulings Undermine Agency Independence — Heardvine