(The Guardian) Jerome Powell pushes back against Trump on interest rate cuts, unusually blunt Fed statement says
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pushed back against Donald Trump’s demands for interest rate cuts during a face-to-face meeting today, according to an unusually blunt statement from the central bank.
At the White House, Powell stressed “that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the Fed said.
Trump, who has attacked Powell repeatedly over the Fed’s decision to not lower interest rates, recently said he has no intention of trying to fire Powell, whom he has called a “major loser”. But the possibility of a firing has unsettled financial markets that bank on an independent Fed’s ability to do its job without political interference.
Earlier this month, Powell kept interest rates on hold and cautioned that the president’s tariff regime was likely to raise prices, weaken growth and increase unemployment in the US if maintained.
The statement goes on to say that Powell maintained that the Fed “will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis”.
The full statement reads: At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President today at the White House to discuss economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation.
Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook. Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the FOMC will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pushed back against Donald Trump’s demands for interest rate cuts during a face-to-face meeting today, according to an unusually blunt statement from the central bank.
At the White House, Powell stressed “that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the Fed said.
Trump, who has attacked Powell repeatedly over the Fed’s decision to not lower interest rates, recently said he has no intention of trying to fire Powell, whom he has called a “major loser”. But the possibility of a firing has unsettled financial markets that bank on an independent Fed’s ability to do its job without political interference.
Earlier this month, Powell kept interest rates on hold and cautioned that the president’s tariff regime was likely to raise prices, weaken growth and increase unemployment in the US if maintained.
The statement goes on to say that Powell maintained that the Fed “will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis”.
The full statement reads: At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President today at the White House to discuss economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation.
Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook. Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the FOMC will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis.
