Scrutiny for the Super Fed

As Matt Yglesias says, the erosion of the Federal Reserve's vaunted independence has to do with the fact that the Federal Reserve isn't majestically presiding over an endless boom anymore. Poor performance invites more aggressive oversight.

But I'd add that the Federal Reserve is also becoming a different, and bigger, beast than it used to be. The extraordinary measures it undertook during the crisis, the decision to directly purchase securities, and the decision to house an expanded consumer protection division all change the nature of the Federal Reserve. It stands to reason that the contract between the agency and the political system would have to be renegotiated. The more responsibilities and powers the Fed takes on, the more it will have to interface with Congress. And that's proper.