DOJ’s probe into Powell sparks backlash over the Fed’s independence

The Trump administration’s criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared on Monday to be emboldening defenders of the U.S. central bank against the efforts of President Donald Trump to control the Fed.

The backlash reflected the bigger stakes of a contest about the fate of the Fed’s independence, the balance of power within the federal government, and the path of the U.S. economy. Trump has long publicly lashed out against Powell for not slashing the Fed’s benchmark interest rates to his liking...