The Fed 'desperately' wants to avoid a recession because it doesn't want to get blamed: Zandi

The Federal Reserve may have more at stake than economic growth as policymakers prepare to meet on rates this coming week.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said recent job numbers have been so dismal that it’s possible the U.S. may already be in a recession.

“I think the Federal Reserve desperately wants to avoid that kind of outcome,” he added. “Obviously nobody wants a recession. But also in the context of Fed independence, they really don’t want to get blamed for going into a downturn because that would impair their ability.”

Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel laid out just such a scenario in July, when he told CNBC that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell may need to resign in order to preserve the central bank’s long-term indep