Fed Chair Tells Trump That Monetary Policy Is Based on ‘Non-Political Analysis’ After Wave of Criticism From the President

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump following the White House’s broadsides against the Fed’s monetary policy choices.

The Fed, however, noted in a statement following the meeting that Powell did not discuss interest rate expectations with the president.

“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 Federal Open Market Committee (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.”

Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not slashing interest rates, saying earlier this month that communicating with the Fed chair is “like talking to a wall.”

“The Bank of England cut. China cut. Everybody’s cutting but him. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. It’s a shame. I call him ‘Too Late.’ Too Late Powell, that’s his nickname. And it’s a shame, it’s ridiculous… he’s always too late. But in this case, it’s not going to matter that much because our country is so strong, we’re so powerful in terms of economic strength and what we’ve done.” 

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