President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his desire to see U.S. interest rates fall significantly, and used a briefing to criticize the current chair of the Federal Reserve.
Speaking to reporters, Trump described Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as "very incompetent," and said Powell favors keeping interest rates elevated. "We have a very incompetent Fed chairman who likes high interest rates - for political reasons he likes them - but were going to have somebody very good, interest rates should down very substantially," Trump said at the briefing.
The president framed the change in Fed leadership as a precursor to lower rates. He pointed to his announced plan, made last month, to nominate Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell when Powell's term as chair concludes in May. Trump presented Warsh's pending nomination as the mechanism by which his preferred shift in policy - namely, a substantial reduction in interest rates - would be achieved.
Trump's remarks combined a direct critique of the current Fed chair's competence with an explicit assertion that Powell maintains higher rates for political reasons. The president linked that critique to his own selection for the top Fed role, saying the incoming nominee would be "very good" and that interest rates should move "down very substantially."
The comments came during a public briefing and represent a reiteration of the position the president has expressed about monetary policy and Fed leadership. Last months announcement of Kevin Warsh as Trump's pick to replace Powell remains the administration's formal plan for the leadership transition at the central bank when the current chair's term ends in May.
Clear summary
President Trump reiterated on Friday that he wants interest rates to be cut substantially. He criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell as "very incompetent" and accused him of favoring high rates for political reasons, and noted that he has nominated Kevin Warsh to replace Powell when his term ends in May.