FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell leaves after his news conference after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, U.S., December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
December 23, 2018
(Reuters) – The advisers of President Donald Trump have discussed in recent days arranging a meeting between him and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a source.
Trump has recently been critical of the Fed for raising borrowing costs this year, especially as U.S. stocks have tumbled and yields on U.S. government debt have begun to signal a possible recession ahead.
Trump has frequently attacked Powell, who was sworn in as Fed chairman last February.
Reuters reported on Saturday that Trump has privately discussed the possibility of firing Powell. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later said Trump told him he had “never suggested firing” the Fed chairman.
The White House and the Federal Reserve did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Dan Grebler)
