Trump to make his presence felt at the Federal Reserve

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Donald Trump’s coming visit to the Federal Reserve appears aimed at pressuring Chair Jerome Powell.
Donald Trump’s coming visit to the Federal Reserve appears aimed at pressuring Chair Jerome Powell.

US President Donald Trump, a strong critic of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is planning an imminent visit to the central bank.

Trump has lambasted Powell repeatedly for not cutting US interest rates more aggressively, referring to him as a “numbskull” and musing publicly about firing him.

The White House has released a schedule to media saying Trump would visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday.

The schedule did not say whether Trump would be meeting with Powell.

A Federal Reserve official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said earlier this week that administration officials would be visiting the Fed on Thursday but did not say the president would join.

Trump’s visit represents an acceleration of the pressure he and his advisers have put on Powell and the bank, traditionally viewed as an independent institution.

Reuters