PANews reported on January 13 that former Fed Vice Chairman Randall Quarles said at a recent forum that even if Trump is elected president and takes office, the Fed's independence, inflation control and labor market will not be threatened. He stressed that the Fed's independence does not exclude the president from expressing his views on policy, but the Fed's structure and the resilience of its officials ensure that it is immune to political pressure. Quarles believes that tariff policies will not significantly affect inflation, although they may marginally prompt the Fed to cut interest rates. He expects Trump's immigration policy to have limited impact on the labor market.

With the stronger-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for December, major economists have generally lowered their expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2025, with the market predicting only one rate cut this year, or even postponed to October. Quarles said that the market's current forecasts of the Fed's actions are more accurate than last year.