One of President Donald Trump’s top contenders to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he supports a rate cut – a move that partly aligns with Trump’s demands.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said late Thursday that the central bank should cut interest rates during its July 29-30 meeting.
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Powell has maintained the central bank’s key borrowing rate within a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. Waller argued that the Fed’s policy rate should drop to 3%. Meanwhile, Trump has called on the Fed to cut rates to 1%.
Waller said a slow-down in consumer spending and job market gains are a few reasons to cut interest rates.
Meanwhile, Powell has adopted a wait-and-see policy in order to assess the economic impact of Trump’s tariff blitz.
Waller argues that the Fed should “look through tariff effects,” adding that the impact on inflation rates will be a temporary pressure.
So far this month, the president has announced plans to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and all 27 countries that make up the European Union. Those tariffs follow a 50% levy on copper imports and products from Brazil and other tariffs imposed on more than 20 countries.
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Waller’s comments come as tensions between Powell and Trump have reached a boiling point in recent days. On Wednesday, Trump floated the idea of firing Powell during a meeting with House Republicans.
He has also called Powell’s handling of monetary policy “lousy” and has said that “so many people” want the Fed chair job.
The president has also fixated on renovation cost overruns at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters. The project to update the Fed’s two main Washington, D.C., office buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood is slated to cost $2.5 billion. The Fed, not taxpayers, are funding the renovation.
Of Trump’s potential candidates to succeed Powell, Waller is considered the veteran academic of the group. He has also reiterated the importance of maintaining an independent Federal Reserve.
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