President Trump said Friday that he believes Fed Chair Jerome Powell is ready to start slashing interest rates.
Trump, who for months has hammered Powell for being slow to cut rates, toured the Fed’s controversial $2.5 billion building project with the embattled central banker on Thursday.
“I think we had a very good meeting on interest rates. And [Powell] said to me…very strongly, the country is doing well. He said congratulations,” Trump told reporters Friday.
“I got that to mean that I think he’s going to start recommending lower rates because of that conversation.”
The Fed declined to comment about Trump’s optimism for a rate cut.
A Fed official released a statement Friday saying the central bank was “honored” to welcome Trump and other Republican officials.
A spokesperson for the Fed said it was “grateful” for Trump’s encouragement to complete the renovation of its Washington HQ and that it “looked forward” to seeing the project through to completion.
Policymakers will hold a two-day meeting next week before deciding whether to slash the rate from its current range between 4.25% and 4.5%.
Powell has said the Fed should wait for more data before adjusting rates because of concerns over the impact of Trump’s tariffs on inflation
It seems more likely that the Fed will cut rates after its September meeting, with 62.3% odds, according to CME FedWatch.
Trump, who called Powell a “numbskull” earlier this week for failing to heed the White House’s demand for a large reduction in borrowing costs, also said on Thursday he did not intend to fire the Fed chief, as he has frequently suggested he would.
Interest rates should be lowered by as much as three percentage points, Trump has said.
Powell has argued that the economy is strong enough that it can withstand higher rates.
White House budget director Russel Vought on Friday continued to blast the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation project and call for a review of the central bank.
“There’s a whole host of issues with regard to the Fed, and we want to make sure that those questions get answered over time,” Vought told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“This is not a pressure campaign on the Fed chairman,” he added.
Vought also said the White House still plans to follow through on what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said is the need for a review of “the entire” Federal Reserve.
Trump visited the Fed’s headquarters decked-out in a hardhat for a tour of the construction site.
At one point, Trump and Powell argued over the costs of the renovation, which the president said had gone over-budget at $3.1 billion.
Powell said the figure remained $2.5 billion and that Trump was including the costs of a separate, previously-completed building.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
