Trump and Fed Chair Powell spoke on phone in April amid interest rate tension
President Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke briefly on the phone in April amid rising tension over interest rates, according to recently released documents.
Trump and Powell spoke for about five minutes at 9 p.m. on April 11, while the Fed chairman was attending the House Democratic Caucus’ Issues Conference in Leesburg, Va. The call was noted in Powell's schedule, which is released on the first Friday of every month, on a one-month delay.
Powell had gone to Lansdowne Resort and Spa, where the three-day policy retreat was held, to brief House Democrats on the economy.
His closed-door address came at a time when Trump was particularly critical of the Federal Reserve for hampering economic growth by implementing a series of interest rate increases.
In the days leading up to the brief phone call, Trump told reporters — on April 5 — the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates and later — on April 10 — said at a meeting his supporters would prefer a Fed chair who does not raise interest rates, according to Bloomberg.
And before that, on March 29, Trump tweeted, "Had the Fed not mistakenly raised interest rates, especially since there is very little inflation, and had they not done the ridiculously timed quantitative tightening, the 3.0% GDP, & Stock Market, would have both been much higher & World Markets would be in a better place!"
The Fed ultimately decided on May 1 to keep interest rates unchanged at 2.25 to 2.5 percent, according to minutes from their Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
"The Committee continues to view sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective as the most likely outcomes," the Fed said in its FOMC statement. "In light of global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures, the Committee will be patient as it determines what future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate may be appropriate to support these outcomes."
According to Powell's schedule, he and Trump also had a five-minute call on March 5 at 3 p.m.
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Trump nominated Powell to be chair of the Federal Reserve in Nov. 2017. He officially started his four-year term in Feb. 2018, succeeding Janet Yellen.