WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump should be free to voice his opinion about the US Federal Reserve, a senior bank official said Thursday, while defending the central bank’s independence to tackle inflation.
“Criticism of what we do, that’s the job,“ Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “If you don’t like being criticized, don’t take the job.”
“The President is free to say whatever they want on policy, just like anybody else,“ added Waller, whom Trump nominated to the Fed’s Governing Board, and who has a permanent vote on the bank’s rate-setting committee.
Waller’s remarks follow heavy criticism from Trump about the Fed’s decision not to cut rates since his return to office.
Trump renewed his criticism of Fed Chair Powell last week after the European Central Bank voted to cut interest rates, widening the gap in rates with the United States, where the Fed has voted repeatedly to pause cuts in the face of stubborn inflation.
Trump’s suggestion that he could fire Powell before his term expires next year — which he has since walked back — sent markets tumbling on fears he may follow through on his threats and undermine the Fed’s fight against inflation independent of government pressure.
Waller said he expects Trump’s tariffs, which have roiled global financial markets, to have a “one-time” effect, pushing up prices and lowering growth.
His comments put him at odds with several of his colleagues on the Fed’s rate-setting committee, who have warned that inflation could become more embedded in the economy.
“It’s going to take some courage to stare down these tariff increases in prices with the belief that they are transitory,“ he said.
In the interview, Waller said he did not expect any serious economic effects from the tariffs before July, when Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on higher tariffs against dozens of countries is due to end.
The Fed has a dual mandate to ensure full maximum employment and stable prices, which it does primarily by raising and lowering its benchmark lending rate, which in turn acts as either a brake or a throttle for economic growth.
“It wouldn’t surprise me that you might start seeing more layoffs, a tick up in the unemployment rate going forward if the big tariffs in particular come back on,“ Waller said.
He added he would not favor any cuts unless there was a marked increase in “speed” of any increase in unemployment.
Financial markets currently see a probability of more than 95 percent that the Fed will vote to pause rate cuts for a third straight meeting next month, leaving its key lending rate at between 4.25 and 4.50 percent, according to data from CME Group.
