“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,” the statement continued.

The Fed has traditionally been independent and insulated from partisan politics, although Trump has drawn criticism for his willingness to question that independence. He has even mused about firing Powell, even though his authority to do so is a matter of debate.

Recently, some in the Trump administration have been pushing for Powell to lower interest rates to ease credit conditions and spur greater economic activity. The Fed has held rates steady at its last few meetings as it assessed the inflation environment and the effects that Trump’s tariffs would have on the economy.

During the Thursday meeting, Powell discussed the Fed’s monetary policy committee’s mission and its independence from politics.

“Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the [Federal Open Market Committee] 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 statement read.

In a post on social media earlier this month, after the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, Trump called “Too late” Powell a “FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue.”

“Other than that, I like him very much! Oil and Energy way down, almost all costs (groceries and ‘eggs’) down, virtually NO INFLATION, Tariff Money Pouring Into the U.S. — THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF ‘TOO LATE!’ ENJOY!” Trump said.

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has also encouraged the Fed to start slashing interest rates. If a rate cut also brought down mortgage rates, housing affordability would improve.

“Jay Powell needs to lower interest rates – enough is enough,” Pulte said on X. “President Trump has crushed Biden’s inflation, and there is no reason not to lower rates. The housing market would be in much better shape if Chairman Powell does this.”

Powell was known for advocating the Fed’s independence during Trump’s first term, gaining him support from some Democrats. During his first term, Trump was critical of Fed policy and hit the central bank for raising interest rates too quickly.

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In 2019, Trump notoriously wrote that his “only question is, who is our biggest enemy,” Powell or Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Powell has said consistently that he doesn’t believe Trump had the authority to fire him.