U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his push for interest rate cuts on Thursday during his first meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell since returning to the White House in January.
Trump has in recent months trained his fire on the Fed chair – whom he first nominated to lead the independent central bank back in 2017 – accusing him of being "too slow" to cut rates to boost economic growth.
Powell and his colleagues on the Fed's rate-setting committee have insisted they will only cut rates from current levels when economic conditions allow.
Trump told Powell that he was "making a mistake by not lowering interest rates," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a press briefing after the meeting.
Trump also said in the meeting that holding interest rates high was putting the United States at an "economic disadvantage" to other countries, including China, Leavitt said.
Earlier Thursday, the Fed said Powell had defended U.S. central bank independence over interest rates during the unusual meeting, which was initiated by Trump to discuss "economic developments including for growth, employment, and inflation."
"Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook," the Fed said in a statement.
The Fed's rate typically influences borrowing costs across the economy, including for mortgages, car loans, and business borrowing.
Powell said the Fed's rate-setting committee would make its decisions "based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis," the bank said.
The meeting, the first since Trump began his second term, marks a ratcheting up of the pressure on Powell following the president's frequent social media posts criticizing him for moving too slowly to cut rates, a process that stokes both growth and inflation.
Trump and Powell met on several occasions during the president's first term in office.
Trump argues that there is "no inflation” and so Powell should cut rates, though such a move might not necessarily reduce the borrowing costs consumers face. Inflation is down substantially from a year ago, yet it remains above the Fed's 2% target.
Trump has also called Powell a "fool" and earlier this year suggested he would fire the Fed chair.
After financial markets reacted negatively, Trump said he had "no intention” of removing Powell, whose term as chair ends in May 2026.
Fed chairs regularly meet with Treasury secretaries but less often with presidents, given that the Fed’s interest rate decisions are intended to be separate from political concerns.
Earlier this month, Powell said he had never requested a meeting with a president and added, "I never will," suggesting it was inappropriate given the Fed's political independence.
"I can't imagine myself doing that," Powell said at a news conference May 7. "It's always come the other way: A President wants to meet with you."
