President Trump met Thursday with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the White House, amid ongoing criticism from the president over the central bank has opted to hold interest rates steady.
The president invited Powell to meet with him, according to a statement from the Fed, to “discuss economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation.”
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Powell didn’t discuss his expectations for monetary policy but stressed “that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the central bank said.
Trump has repeatedly bashed Powell, who he first appointed in 2017, while he has bucked calls from the president to lower borrowing costs.
Trump has called the chair “Too Late” and a “fool,” while Powell has defended not reducing rates as the Fed waits to see how the president’s whipsaw trade policies and tax cut plans affect a sturdy U.S. economy.
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Trump’s frustration with Powell over interest rates seemingly came to a head last month, with some questioning whether the White House would try to oust him. But the president later dispelled that notion, saying he had no intentions of firing the Fed leader.
Others in the administration have also bashed Powell, including Vice President Vance, who recently called him a “nice guy” who has been “wrong about almost everything.”
