Silicon Valley Bank under political scrutiny as Trump camp seeks grounds to replace Federal Reserve governors

Glonghui July 23 — As U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to increase his influence over the Federal Reserve, an external review of the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse is turning into a high-stakes political battle. According to sources familiar with the matter, some Trump administration officials and their allies have privately discussed whether this review report could provide legal grounds to remove Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr from the board. Due to the sensitivity of the discussions, these sources wished to remain anonymous. When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed due to massive uninsured deposit concentration combined with poor interest rate risk management, Barr was serving as the Federal Reserve’s Vice Chair for Supervision, the top role in the Fed’s banking regulatory system.