The president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, told President Donald Trump that monetary policy decisions would be based “only on careful, objective and non -political analysis,” according to a brief statement from the Central Bank on Thursday.
Powell’s comments arrived at a meeting attended at the White House on Thursday “by invitation of the president,” said the Fed in his statement, who stressed that the head of the Central Bank sought to defend the independence of the institution.
“President Powell did not discuss his monetary policy expectations, except to emphasize that the path of politics will depend completely on incoming economic information and what that means for perspectives,” the statement said.
The Fed reiterated what Powell has long emphasized Trump’s unprecedented pressure campaign that urges the Central Bank to reduce interest rates, “that he and his colleagues on the FOMC will establish monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices,” said the Central Bank, which refers to the Federal Committee of the Market that establishes the rates.
The leaders of the Central Bank will meet from June 17 to 18 to determine their next interest rate decision.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Trump, who nominated Powell for his role at the top of the Fed in 2017, has repeatedly attacked the head of the Central Bank, recently criticizing him on social networks as “a fool, who has no idea.”
Trump Fed comments have often moved markets. His social post of the truth of April 17 that said that “Powell’s termination cannot be quick enough,” he led to market agitation days. The president finally retreated, saying five days after “he had no intention of saying goodbye to Powell and” never did “, a possibility that the Supreme Court recently pointed out that he would probably exceed the presidential powers.
While the meetings between the president and the president of the Fed are rare, Powell met face to face twice with Trump in 2019, during his first term: once on February 4 (Powell’s birthday), and again on November 18 of that year. Powell also met with President Biden in May 2022, after the president of the Fed was re -elected to another mandate.
