<p><em>By Jana Randow</em></p><p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, the billionaire tasked with making the US government more efficient come January, has zeroed in on the Federal Reserve.</p><p>The central bank in charge of protecting the world’s largest economy is “absurdly overstaffed,” Musk wrote on social-media platform X. The remarks were part of a thread beginning when someone posted about the Fed’s latest policy decision. They come after US President-elect Donald Trump also made the Fed a target, arguing he should have a say in monetary policy and the setting of interest rates.</p>.'Hoax': Trump reacts to talks of ceding presidency to Musk .<p>Musk has become one of Trump’s closest advisers as the latter prepares to return to the White House, and is set to lead up a new agency — called the Department of Government Efficiency — along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. DOGE, as it’s known, seeks to deliver a leaner, more efficient government, including $2 trillion in spending cuts. </p><p>The Federal Reserve Board in Washington and 12 regional reserve banks across the US employed about 24,000 people last year — significantly less than comparable institutions.</p><p>In the Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank and the region’s 20 national peers, the central banks of Germany, France and Italy together had more people on their payrolls.</p><p>The Fed and Chair Jerome Powell have been a frequent target of Trump, who appointed him during his first term. Recently, he ridiculed Powell’s role as “the greatest job in government,” saying, “you show up to the office once a month, and you say, ‘Let’s see, flip a coin.’” </p><p>While Powell hasn’t responded directly, ECB President Christine Lagarde challenged Trump’s gripe, inviting him to come and observe the work of her team in Frankfurt.</p><p>“I have thousands of hard-working people — economists, jurists, computer scientists — and I can assure you that they work super hard every day, not just once a month,” she told Bloomberg TV. “We defend the euro, and we fight for the euro, just as the Fed defends the dollar, I’m sure — I don’t want to speak for Jay Powell, but I’m sure that’s how he sees his job.” </p>
<p><em>By Jana Randow</em></p><p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, the billionaire tasked with making the US government more efficient come January, has zeroed in on the Federal Reserve.</p><p>The central bank in charge of protecting the world’s largest economy is “absurdly overstaffed,” Musk wrote on social-media platform X. The remarks were part of a thread beginning when someone posted about the Fed’s latest policy decision. They come after US President-elect Donald Trump also made the Fed a target, arguing he should have a say in monetary policy and the setting of interest rates.</p>.'Hoax': Trump reacts to talks of ceding presidency to Musk .<p>Musk has become one of Trump’s closest advisers as the latter prepares to return to the White House, and is set to lead up a new agency — called the Department of Government Efficiency — along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. DOGE, as it’s known, seeks to deliver a leaner, more efficient government, including $2 trillion in spending cuts. </p><p>The Federal Reserve Board in Washington and 12 regional reserve banks across the US employed about 24,000 people last year — significantly less than comparable institutions.</p><p>In the Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank and the region’s 20 national peers, the central banks of Germany, France and Italy together had more people on their payrolls.</p><p>The Fed and Chair Jerome Powell have been a frequent target of Trump, who appointed him during his first term. Recently, he ridiculed Powell’s role as “the greatest job in government,” saying, “you show up to the office once a month, and you say, ‘Let’s see, flip a coin.’” </p><p>While Powell hasn’t responded directly, ECB President Christine Lagarde challenged Trump’s gripe, inviting him to come and observe the work of her team in Frankfurt.</p><p>“I have thousands of hard-working people — economists, jurists, computer scientists — and I can assure you that they work super hard every day, not just once a month,” she told Bloomberg TV. “We defend the euro, and we fight for the euro, just as the Fed defends the dollar, I’m sure — I don’t want to speak for Jay Powell, but I’m sure that’s how he sees his job.” </p>