Fed’s Powell has had no contact with Trump after president said he’ll demand rates drop

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday he has not spoken to President Donald Trump since last week’s remarks by the president when he said he would demand the central bank lower interest rates.

Speaking after the central bank’s decision to hold interest rates steady, Powell said he has had “no contact” with Trump since the remarks, which came during a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I’m not going to have any response or comment whatsoever on what the president said. It’s not appropriate for me to do so. The public should be confident that we will continue to do our work as we always have, focusing on using our tools to achiever our goals and really keeping our heads down and doing our work,” Powell said Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve is designed to make interest rate decisions independent of pressure from elected officials. However, Trump in his first term was unusually vocal with his opinions on what the central bank should do.

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