Former President Donald Trump has voiced his disapproval of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's handling of the economy, saying Powell is considering interest rate cuts this year only to help Democrats.
Donald Trump Accuses Fed Chair Jerome Powell of Making Politically Motivated Decisions
In an interview with Fox News on Friday morning, Donald Trump accused Jerome Powell of making politically motivated decisions on interest rates.
The former president alleged that Powell was considering lowering interest rates this year to help Democrats in the upcoming elections.
"I think he's going to do something to probably help the Democrats, you know, I think if he lowers interest rates," Trump said.
"It looks to me like he's trying to lower interest rates for the sake of maybe getting people elected," he added.
Donald Trump Will Not Reappoint Jerome Powell if He Wins
Donald Trump also said he will not reappoint Jerome Powell to head the Federal Reserve if he wins reelection, POLITICO reported.
The former president has appointed Powell back in 2017. The former president's remarks come as the Federal Reserve weighs on when to start cutting interest rates.
On Wednesday, the central bank said it held rates steady. However, Powell noted that it was unlikely that rate cuts would happen in the next meeting in March as the board was not expected to see sufficient evidence of success in its battle against inflation by that time.
Powell has consistently emphasized that economic data is the driving force of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions. Last December, Powell said in a press conference that they do not think about political events when formulating monetary policy.
"We don't think about politics... We think about what's the right thing to do for the economy," the the bank's chair noted.
"We have to think, what's the right thing? We'll do the things that we think are right for the economy when we think is the right time. That's what we'll always do," he added."
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