What did Trump discuss privately with the Fed Chairman at the White House?

(Dan Tri) - For the first time since taking office, US President Donald Trump invited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the White House for a face-to-face meeting.

President Donald Trump met with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on May 29. The Fed confirmed the meeting in a press release, stressing that the meeting did not discuss the future direction of monetary policy.

"At the President's invitation, Chairman Powell traveled to the White House today to discuss economic conditions, including growth, employment, and inflation," the Fed said.

"Chair Powell did not discuss monetary policy forecasts. He simply emphasized that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic data and their implications for the U.S. economic outlook," the statement stressed.

The statement also affirmed that Mr. Powell and his colleagues at the Fed remain committed to building monetary policy based on “careful, objective, and non- political analysis.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she and the president had read the Fed's statement and confirmed that the information was accurate. "The president said he believes the Fed Chairman is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which puts us at an economic disadvantage compared to China and other countries," Ms. Leavitt added.

The meeting comes at a sensitive time for the US economy, as Mr Trump pushes for tariffs that could stoke inflationary pressures, while the Fed tries to strike a balance between its dual goals of stabilising the labour market and stabilising prices.

US President Donald Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell (Photo: Reuters).

This is the first meeting between the two since Mr. Trump returned to the White House. The last time the two met in person was in November 2019. The event was also attended by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Earlier, at a press conference earlier this month, Mr. Powell confirmed that he had not met this term's president and stated that he would not proactively request such a meeting. The Fed is famous for its ability to operate independently, not influenced by political factors.

“I have never asked to meet with any president and never will. I have no reason to ask. It has always been the president who makes the first move,” Mr. Powell said.

Relations between the two sides have been tense over the past few years. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates as he wanted.

Trump nominated Powell for the Fed chair during his first term. But their relationship quickly deteriorated over differences in interest rates. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to replace Powell, although he has said he has no intention of firing him.

Earlier this month, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.25-4.5%, where it has been since December. Fed officials later signaled that they could keep rates on hold for a few more months to monitor the impact of Trump’s import tariffs.

Amidst the uncertainty surrounding tax policy, financial markets also expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged until there is more clear data.

The market now expects the Fed to not cut rates until September, skipping its June and July meetings. The Fed is likely to cut again by year-end.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/ong-trump-da-ban-rieng-dieu-gi-voi-chu-tich-fed-tai-nha-trang-20250530104056645.htm