President Donald Trump may have reduced the powers of independent agencies, but it’s unclear if he’ll succeed in gaining more control over the Federal Reserve.

Since starting his second term in January, Trump has sought to remove guardrails put in place decades ago to insulate some government agencies from political interference.

That includes the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates consumer protection; the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees TV broadcasting; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which monitors workplace discrimination; and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a consumer watchdog.

In some cases, Trump has attempted to fire board members whose terms had not yet expired or appointed new heads who are opposed to the traditional mission of the agency. In other cases, he’s sought to influence more control over agencies through unusual political coordination or executive orders asserting broad new powers.

For now, he’s generally succeeded in these moves — although legal questions remain — but he faces a tougher slog against the Federal Reserve, which the Supreme Court has singled out as worthy of special protection and some of his Republican allies would like to see retain its independence.

Read Akayla Gardner’s full analysis here.

In August, the Food and Drug Administration updated its Covid-19 vaccine guidance, limiting it to people over 65 or babies over 6 months old with at least one underlying health condition that puts them at risk. 

Here are some highlights of the president’s actions over the last seven days:

The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we’re highlighting a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles or their fellow Americans. This week’s challenger is U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs.

The Supreme Court has largely backed Trump’s attempts to expand presidential power, at times using so-called shadow docket rulings that offer little explanation. Now some other judges are making clear what they think about this. After Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch criticized lower-court judges who don’t follow its decisions, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs pushed back in a footnote to a ruling, pointing out that some of the high court’s recent emergency rulings “have not been models of clarity.” She went on to say that other judges are working in a “rapidly evolving” legal landscape relying on emergency orders from the Supreme Court that appear to set “precedent aside without much explanation or consensus.” Read more.

On Thursday, we’ll get the latest inflation report, perhaps the final piece of information the Federal Reserve needs before it decides what to do about interest rates. Current thinking is that the Fed will cut rates for the first time since December, after last week’s report that the labor market is not looking so hot along with today’s revisions to earlier months. Normally, lower rates stimulate the economy and give hiring a boost as companies and consumers spend more. The flip side is that spending can lead to inflation, which has already been creeping up in recent months. In August, it was 2.7%. With worries that the president’s tariffs and deportations could chill the economy as lower rates cause prices to spike — all of which could be a recipe for the economic disaster known as “stagflation.” Learn more.