FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, wearing a face mask, testifies before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee during a hearing on oversight of the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve response to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2020. Tasos Katopodis/Pool via REUTERS
July 1, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated he was warming to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he has harshly criticized for not cutting lending rates below zero, telling Fox Business Network he appreciated the central bank putting liquidity into the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would say that I was not happy with him at the beginning. And I’m getting more and more happy with him. I think he’s stepped up to the plate. He’s done a good job,” Trump said but would not answer a question about whether he thought Powell should serve another term. “He’s had to liquefy a little bit, let us liquefy, let the economy I mean put out that money that you need.”
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
