Congressman Thomas Massie Reintroduces Bill to Abolish the Federal Reserve

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) reintroduced his bill to abolish the Federal Reserve on Thursday, calling the central bank the root cause of inflation and economic instability.

The legislation, known as H.R. 1846, the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, would dismantle the entire Fed system, including the Board of Governors and all 12 regional banks. If passed, the bill would wipe out the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, effectively erasing over a century of central banking in the United States.

Massie, who has been a longtime critic of the Fed, stated that the central bank devalues the dollar, enables reckless government spending, and causes inflation that hurts everyday Americans. “Americans have suffered under crippling inflation, and the Federal Reserve is to blame,” Massie said in his official statement.

He pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic when the Fed printed trillions of dollars and loaned them to the Treasury Department to fund record-high deficit spending. “By monetizing the debt, the Federal Reserve devalued the dollar and enabled free money policies that caused high inflation,” said Massie.

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is leading a companion bill in the Senate, S. 869, which aims to accomplish the same goal. “The Federal Reserve has not only failed to achieve its mandate, it has become an economic manipulator,” Lee said according to Massie.

Lee added that: “We need to end the monetization of federal debt that fuels unchecked spending and put American money on solid ground.”

‘Audit the Fed’ Goes Viral as Transparency Demands Grow

While advocating for the abolition of the Fed, Massie is also reviving an effort to force a full audit of the central bank. On January 3rd, he reintroduced H.R. 24, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2025, also known as “Audit the Fed.”

This bill would require the Comptroller General to conduct a full examination of the Board of Governors and Federal Reserve Banks, something the central bank has avoided for decades.

Massie argues that the Fed operates in secrecy, crafting monetary policies that devalue the dollar and exacerbate life for the middle class. “The American public deserves more insight into the practices of the Federal Reserve,” Massie stated. “Behind closed doors, the Fed crafts policies that slow economic growth while benefiting the wealthy and well-connected.”

Former Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) originally introduced the “Audit the Fed” legislation in 2009, but it has failed to pass despite repeated attempts. The Audit the Fed bill has gained strong support among libertarians, fiscal conservatives, and crypto enthusiasts, who believe that the Fed’s unchecked power allows it to manipulate the economy without accountability.

Fed Faces Uncertainty as Michael Barr Resigns

As Congress pushes for major changes to the Fed, the central bank also deals with internal drama. Michael Barr, the Vice Chair for Supervision, resigned on March 3rd, leaving a significant vacancy in the Committee on Supervision and Regulation.

The Vice Chair for Supervision role was created by former president Barack Obama under the Dodd-Frank Act after the 2008 financial crisis to strengthen banking oversight. Barr’s resignation means that the committee now only has two members—Philip Jefferson and Michelle Bowman—leaving no clear leader for banking oversight.

Back in January, Barr warned that staying in his role could lead to a political showdown with President Donald Trump. Rather than face that fight, he chose to resign. Trump will need to appoint a new Vice Chair from the existing board, as the next vacancy doesn’t open until 2026, which is reportedly per his preference. Trump has publicly criticized the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell.

Elon’s D.O.G.E. Cracks Down on Fed’s 24,000 Employees

The pressure on the Fed isn’t only from Congress and Trump. Elon Musk is also targeting the central bank, calling it “absurdly overstaffed” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Previously, he had criticized the Fed’s workforce, and now he’s reiterating that sentiment, sharing a graph of Fed employment numbers with the caption “End the Fed.”

Elon’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) has already forced thousands of federal employees to justify their jobs by submitting detailed reports on their work activity. Now, the agency is focusing on the 24,000 employees at the Fed’s headquarters and 12 regional banks.

Unlike most government agencies, the Fed doesn’t rely on Congress for funding; it makes money from interest on government securities. However, it has been operating at a deficit due to high-interest rates on bank reserves, which is where Elon’s D.O.G.E. comes in.

In a post on X, Elon clarified that he isn’t focusing on the Fed’s $6.8 trillion balance sheet, already audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and private companies. Instead, he aims to reveal how the central bank makes its monetary policy decisions.

Meanwhile, last Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order removing some authority from the Fed over big banks, transferring power to political appointees in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated: “DOGE has been an incredible success, and now that we have my Cabinet in place, I directed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on cost-cutting measures and staffing. As the Secretaries learn about the people working for various Departments, they can be very precise on who will remain and who will go. We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet.’ The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level.”