In 1914, McFadden was elected as a Republican Representative to the
Sixty-fourth Congress and to the nine succeeding Congresses. McFadden later became a "vociferous foe of the Federal Reserve", which he claimed was created and operated by Jewish banking interests who conspired to economically control the United States. In a speech in the House of Representatives in December 1931, McFadden accused
Paul Warburg, one of the leading forces behind the
Federal Reserve Act, of “having engineered the great depression.” On June 10, 1932, McFadden made a 25-minute speech before the House of Representatives, in which he accused the Federal Reserve of deliberately causing the
Great Depression. After the expulsion from Washington, D.C., of the veteran petitioners of the
Bonus Army, which he called "the greatest crime in modern history", McFadden moved to impeach President
Herbert Hoover in 1932, and he also introduced a resolution bringing conspiracy charges against the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The impeachment resolution was defeated by a vote of 361 to 8; it was seen as a big vote of confidence to President Hoover from the House. According to
Time magazine McFadden was "denounced and condemned by all Republicans for his 'contemptible gesture'." Sen.
David A. Reed (R-PA) said "We intend to act to all practical purposes as though McFadden had died". In 1933, he introduced House Resolution No. 158, which included articles of impeachment for the Secretary of the Treasury, two assistant Secretaries of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and the officers and directors of its twelve regional banks. In 1934, he made several comments from the floor of the House and in newsletters to his constituents wherein he cited the
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, claimed the Roosevelt administration was controlled by Jews, and objected to
Henry Morgenthau Jr., who was Jewish, becoming
Secretary of the Treasury.
Drew Pearson claimed in his "Washington Merry-Go-Round" column that, in a publication by the American fascist
Silver Shirts, McFadden had been "extensively" quoted "in support of Adolf Hitler". In September the
Nazi tabloid
Der Stuermer praised McFadden. He was also lauded by the publications of
William Dudley Pelley, leader of the Silver Shirts, on several occasions. On election day that year he lost to
Charles E. Dietrich by "about 2,000 votes". This was the only election between 1912 and 1950 when the district elected a
Democrat. According to McFadden's
Jewish Telegraphic Agency obituary: "In January 1935, he announced his candidacy for president with the backing of an organization called 'the Independent Republican National Christian-Gentile Committee' on a platform to 'keep the Jew out of control of the Republican Party!'" Not garnering much support for his presidential bid, he tried to win back his congressional seat. He lost the nomination by a wide-margin to Col.
Albert G. Rutherford who went on to win the general election. ==Death==