President Donald Trump used a June 5 interview to publicly lobby against interest rate increases, praising newly installed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh while making it abundantly clear he wants borrowing costs to stay where they are.
Speaking with NBC’s Kristen Welker at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Trump said there is “no reason to raise interest rates” and called Warsh “fantastic.” The comments land less than two weeks before Warsh’s first Federal Open Market Committee meeting, scheduled for June 16-17, creating an unusually direct collision between presidential preference and central bank independence.
The setup heading into June’s FOMC meeting
Warsh was sworn in on May 22 after a 54-45 Senate confirmation vote. He steps into the role at a moment when the fed funds rate sits at 3.5-3.75%, and a strong May jobs report has shifted market expectations away from cuts and toward holds or even hikes.
Inflation pressures, partly fueled by geopolitical tensions including the ongoing conflict with Iran, have complicated the picture.
