Top economist says Trump's Fed pressure may not be felt for years: 'You can appear to get away with a lot while you’re actually doing a lot of damage'

Francis Fukuyama speaks into a microphone (Credit: Viktor Kovalchuk / Global Images Ukraine—Getty Images)

President Donald Trump is rapidly tightening his grip on institutions that have long been thought to operate independently of the White House.

Last week, he fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, just hours after the agency released a dismal July jobs report. He plans to appoint someone in her place that he deems “more competent.” Days earlier, Trump announced plans to name the next Federal Reserve chair “very soon,” months before current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term is set to expire. The move gives Trump an unusual opportunity to shape the direction of the central bank well ahead of schedule.