Biden says he hasn't spoken with Fed chair Powell

Context: The Federal Reserve is designed to operate free of politics, though former President Trump throughout his term repeatedly and publicly criticized Powell, who he picked, Axios' Dan Primack reports.

• Trump's open criticism of the Fed was unprecedented and raised concerns that Fed politicization would become the new norm.

What he's saying: "I think the Federal Reserve is an independent operation," Biden said.

• "And starting off my presidency, I want to be real clear that I'm not going to do the kinds of things that have been done in the last administration — either talking to the attorney general about who he’s going to prosecute or not prosecute and under what circumstances, or the Fed, telling them what they should and shouldn't do."
• "Even though that wouldn't be the basis upon which I’d be talking to them. So I have been very fastidious about not talking to them, but I do talk to the secretary of Treasury.”