Fed Says Powell and Trump Met at White House to Discuss Economy
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump Thursday at the White House, the central bank said in a statement, their first such meeting since the president began his second term.
“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 Fed said.
The meeting was at the president’s invitation, according to the statement. They discussed economic developments including growth, employment and inflation.
The discussion came on the heels of a court ruling that blocked the majority of Trump’s tariffs on US trading partners announced this year.
Powell and Fed officials have held interest rates steady this year, arguing a patient approach to policy is appropriate amid economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s expanded and evolving use of tariffs. Fed policymakers have said they expect the announced tariffs to weigh on economic growth and put upward pressure on inflation.
The Fed’s on-hold stance has drawn ire from Trump, who has repeatedly called for lower interest rates and criticized Powell’s leadership of the central bank.
Powell has repeatedly said Fed officials set policy based on their judgment of what is in the best interest of the economy. He reiterated that message to Trump on Thursday, according to the Fed.
The Fed chief “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 said, referring to the interest-rate setting Federal Open Market Committee.
Source : Bloomberg
