Trump, Powell are ‘political’ about interest rates
Former President Donald Trump on Friday criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and said he was playing politics with interest rate policy.
“It seems to me he’s trying to lower interest rates to get people elected,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network.
“I think he’s a political guy,” added Trump, a likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate.
When asked whether he would re-nomine Powell for a third four-year term, President Trump answered “no.”
President Trump said he had several choices in mind to replace Powell, but did not specify who they would be.
President Trump said lowering interest rates would lead to massive inflation. He added that the Middle East conflict is likely to lead to “big inflation” due to a surge in oil prices.
“President Trump said lowering interest rates would lead to massive inflation. He added that the Middle East conflict is likely to lead to “big inflation” due to a surge in oil prices.”
“Powell won’t be able to do anything,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, Powell said he was not thinking about a potential third term at all. Powell’s current term expires in early 2026.
Speculating about a third term is “not what I’m focused on,” Powell said.
“We are focused on doing our job. This will be a very important year for the Federal Reserve and monetary policy. We are all very tense and focused on doing our jobs,” Powell said.
Analysts said the Fed would face criticism from both parties in an election year.
Powell is expected to face more questions about the election when he appears on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
Earlier this week, top Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee urged the Federal Reserve to quickly cut interest rates, saying they were too high and were harming the housing market.
“Keeping interest rates high will be harmful to American workers and their families and will do little to lower prices or promote moderate economic growth,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and chairman of the Banking Committee, wrote in the letter. “He said. to Powell before Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%.
In response to the letter sent by Democrats on Wednesday, Powell said Congress had given the Federal Reserve a price stability role. High inflation hurts people at the lower end of the income spectrum, he added.
“What society has asked us to do is to lower inflation. “The tool we use to do this is interest rates,” he said.
The Federal Reserve has planned three interest rate cuts in 2024. Powell said a cut was unlikely to occur at the Fed’s next meeting in March. He said the Fed would like to see better inflation reports and greater confidence that inflation has reached its 2% target.
