Trump and Powell meet in White House as Fed faces pressure to lower rates – Washington Examiner
The article discusses a meeting between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome powell as they face pressure to lower interest rates. During the meeting, they addressed various economic topics including growth, employment, and inflation. The Federal Reserve usually maintains its independence from political influence but Trump has previously criticized Powell’s decisions and even suggested the possibility of firing him.
Despite the pressure, Powell reaffirmed the Fed’s commitment to making policy decisions based solely on economic indicators rather than political influences. He emphasized the importance of supporting maximum employment and stable prices. While the Fed has held interest rates steady in recent meetings as it evaluates inflation and the impacts of tariffs, there have been calls from some in Trump’s administration for rate cuts to stimulate economic activity and improve housing affordability.
The article also highlights past criticisms Trump has made of Powell, referring to him as a “fool” in a social media post, and mentions the contrasting political dynamics witnessed during Powell’s first term amid Trump’s vocal discontent with Fed policies.
Trump and Powell meet in White House as Fed faces pressure to lower rates
President Donald Trump met with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as Trump and others in the administration have pressed the central bank to lower interest rates.
The Fed announced the Thursday meeting in a brief statement. The central bank said that the two discussed “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,” 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 as a way to ease credit conditions and spur greater economic activity. The Fed has held rates steady at its last few meetings as it assesses the inflation environment and the effects that Trump’s tariffs will 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 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,” 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, who is 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 standing up for 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.
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