President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed he “just heard” that all four of former President Joe Biden’s Federal Reserve appointments were approved using an autopen, raising questions about their authority to serve. Trump offered no evidence for the assertion, which echoes his prior claims that documents signed by an autopen during Biden’s presidency are invalid, but he said it is “something we have to look into.” He suggested the list could include Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has faced repeated criticism from Trump over interest rate decisions.
The comments came ahead of a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, where the Fed sets interest rates. Trump has long pressured Powell and the central bank to cut rates, criticizing them when they resisted his demands. The FOMC reduced rates in September and October and is expected to make a third cut soon. Powell, appointed Fed chair by Trump during his first term, was reappointed by Biden in 2021; his term expires in May. The other Biden appointees on the Fed Board of Governors—Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr, and Lisa Cook—along with Powell, constitute a majority on the board.
Trump made the autopen claim during a campaign-style speech in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, focused on the economy and responding to Democratic messaging about affordability. During the address, he asked aides to verify whether the autopen had been used to sign the appointments. “I just heard, it could be that all four commissioners in the Fed signed by Biden … I hear that the autopen may have signed those commissions,” Trump said, interspersing the claim with criticism of Powell and references to urging from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to lower rates. He repeatedly questioned aides, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, about who had signed the commissions, emphasizing that if the autopen was used, “they put people there that are not authorized to be there.”