Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the U.S. economy, but pushed back on calls for interest rate cuts, the Fed said in a statement.
The central bank noted that Powell “did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy,” emphasizing that any future decisions would be based entirely on economic data.
“Policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the Fed said, stressing the Fed’s independence.
Trump has repeatedly pressured Powell to slash rates to boost economic growth. But Powell reiterated that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would act based on “careful, objective, and non-political analysis.”
The meeting came at Trump’s invitation and covered topics such as growth, employment, and inflation. Despite the pressure, Powell signaled no shift in the Fed’s cautious stance on rate cuts.
