In an extraordinary move, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has reduced his search for a new Federal Reserve chair to two candidates and that he should at the very least be briefed on interest rate decisions.
Trump stated that he is favoring either National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett or former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to head the Fed in the upcoming year.
"I believe you have Kevin and Kevin. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in the Oval Office, Trump stated, "I think the two Kevins are great."
According to the WSJ, Trump stated that he believed the next Fed chair should confer with him on where to set interest rates. Usually, presidents let the Fed make rate decisions.
Generally speaking, that is no longer done. It was once done on a regular basis. "It ought to be completed," Trump declared. It doesn't mean that he should follow our instructions exactly, in my opinion.
However, we're I'm a wise voice that ought to be heard." When asked by reporters at a different Oval Office event if he should be involved in Fed interest rate decisions, Trump responded that he should at least be contacted.
The Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, have been under fire from Trump for failing to significantly lower interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed lowered interest rates by a quarter point. "They are not required to do as I say. However, we will soon be selecting a new Fed employee," he stated.
