President Trump pledges Fed independence as Kevin Warsh becomes chairman
“I want him to be independent.” President Donald Trump declared after Kevin Warsh was sworn in that he wanted an independent Federal Reserve chairman.
President Donald Trump said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on June 7 that there is “no reason” to raise interest rates.
President Trump pushed back when asked about economists’ warnings that the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates after the latest U.S. jobs report. Financial markets plunged after the release of a better-than-expected report. Employers added 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department, an upward revision from the previous month.
“We’ve got a great report. We’re doing great work, but it’s unfair that every time we do great work they want to raise interest rates,” Trump told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker. It should be the opposite.
With inflation remaining high and the economy continuing to grow, traders are increasingly expecting interest rates to rise rather than cut this year. President Trump claimed, “If we succeed, we can kill inflation just like raising interest rates.”
He added: “My feeling is that when a country is doing well, we shouldn’t be penalized by raising interest rates too quickly.”
Trump has taken actions during his second term to exert influence over the central bank, raising concerns about its independence. However, President Trump said he would leave the appointment to new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, who took office at the end of May.
“Kevin is great. I want him to do whatever he wants to do,” President Trump said. “I don’t want to affect him too much.”
Contributed by Rachel Barber and Andrea Riquier, USA TODAY
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. Please contact us at ndiller@usatoday.com.
