CONCERNING

Trump’s First Fed Chair Slams Tariff Chaos as ‘Worst Self-Inflicted Wound’

The former treasury secretary warned that Trump’s economic measures could increase the possibility of a recession.

Janet Yellen, who served as chair of the Federal Reserve during Donald Trump’s first term, slammed the president’s economic policies as the “worst self-inflicted wound” by any administration in an interview with CNN International on Thursday. Yellen, who served as treasury secretary under President Joe Biden, expressed concern about the direction of the country’s economic policy under Trump, in what she called an otherwise well-functioning economy, warning that his measures will increase the possibility of a recession. In her first broadcast interview since leaving office, Yellen told CNN International that U.S. Treasury debt yields rose sharply amid the tariff financial turmoil, which scared investors and forced them to question their safe-haven status. “It caused highly leveraged hedge funds that hold U.S. Treasuries to begin to sell their holdings, and that’s something that could really begin to trigger financial instability if there is massive sales of U.S. Treasuries,” Yellen said. “So my understanding is that this is something that was an influence on President Trump in getting him to pause the reciprocal tariffs, and it’s certainly something that should be of concern.”