Elon Musk Remains Committed to the Idea of Auditing the Fed

Billionaire Elon Musk has reiterated his call for increased scrutiny of the Federal Reserve, stating during a conservative gathering on Thursday that he intends to conduct an audit of the central bank.

While he did not provide further details about his audit plans, Musk confirmed onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference that he intends to pursue this initiative.

This is the second occasion this month that the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has advocated for a closer examination of the Fed, which is responsible for setting interest rates and regulating the nation’s largest financial institutions.

Musk’s remarks follow a recent directive from the White House to tighten its grip on the Fed’s regulation of significant banks, part of a new executive order that grants President Donald Trump’s appointees enhanced authority over independent agencies.

The executive order affirms that the Federal Reserve will maintain comprehensive control over monetary policy—specifically the setting of interest rates—while establishing a closer link between the supervision of major banks and the White House’s policies and objectives.

Read more: What is the Federal Reserve?

Musk initially hinted at his support for a Federal Reserve audit on February 9 through a series of posts on his platform, X.

Responding to another user’s comment about the Fed’s lack of a full audit or transparency regarding monetary policy, Musk said: “All aspects of the government must be fully transparent and accountable to the people. No exceptions, including, if not especially, the Federal Reserve.”

Legally, the Fed must have its financial statements audited annually by an independent public accounting firm. To ensure auditor independence, the Fed mandates that the external auditor maintain independence in all matters concerning the audit.

Moreover, the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Reserve board’s Office of Inspector General regularly conduct audits of several Fed operations.

However, some conservatives, prominently former Congressman Ron Paul, have long advocated for a GAO audit of the Fed that would encompass the central bank’s private discussions on interest rate policy. Paul also authored a book in 2009 titled “End the Fed.”

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On February 9, Musk also reacted to a post from another X user suggesting that he was contemplating appointing the 89-year-old Paul to lead a Fed audit, to which Musk replied, “This will be great.”

A lawmaker questioned Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week during a session before the House Financial Services Committee on the renewed calls to audit the Fed, specifically whether he anticipates that this could lead to political micromanagement of monetary policy.

“I really have no way of knowing what that would look like,” Powell said.

He pointed out that the GAO “is allowed to work on all aspects of the Fed except for monetary policy,” voicing that the risk would come if that exemption were eliminated, as it could lead to investigations into monetary policy decisions.

Powell has expressed such concerns previously. In a speech from February 2015, he stated he was “worried” that subjecting Fed interest rate decision-making to audits would “expose monetary policy to excessive political pressure and restrict the Fed’s capacity to react to future crises.”

“I contend that these proposals overlook the substantial costs and risks involved in subjecting monetary policy to political influences and limiting the Fed’s ability to fulfill its conventional role of providing liquidity during a crisis,” he stated.

Powell remarked in 2015 that the push for auditing was based on the notion that the Fed operated without accountability and lacked transparency during the last financial crisis.

“The Fed has consistently been transparent, accountable, and has been subjected to extensive oversight, particularly during and after the crisis,” Powell emphasized at the time. “We have also made necessary enhancements to bolster that transparency since the crisis.”

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