Donald Trump, in his first face-to-face meeting, since he became US President, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, pushed him to lower interest rates, the White House has said.
At a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump told Powell he thinks that he’s making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, reported Bloomberg. She said the President believes this is hurting the US economy compared to China and other countries.
Leavitt said that Trump has spoken out about the issue publicly, and she can now confirm that he also did so in private. Powell’s term ends in May 2026 but Leavitt said that there was not talk about whether the president would try and remove Powell from his job.
The Federal Reserve said in a statement earlier on Thursday that the meeting happened at Trump’s invitation at the White House. They talked about the economy, including growth, jobs, and inflation. Their last meeting was in November 2019.
The Federal Reserve said that Chair Powell did not share any specific plans or expectations about the monetary policy except that any future policy decisions would be based on new economic data and how it affects the economy.
Powell also told President Trump that the Federal Reserve would base its decisions on careful, objective, and non-political analysis”, the central bank said, reported Bloomberg. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that this summary was accurate.
The meeting happened shortly after a court ruling stopped most of the tariffs Trump had placed on US trading partners earlier this year.
So far in 2025, Powell and other Fed officials have kept interest rates unchanged. They believe it’s best to be cautious because of the uncertainty caused by Trump’s new and changing use of tariffs, the report said. Fed officials have also said these tariffs could slow down the economy and push prices higher.