Powell Meets Trump, Stresses Monetary Policy Decisions Will Be Based On Objective And ‘Non-Political Analysis’

During his meeting with the U.S. President, the Fed Chair emphasized that the direction of monetary policy will depend entirely on incoming economic data and its implications for the outlook.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss economic developments, including growth, employment, and inflation, according to a statement from the central bank. The central bank highlighted that the meeting was held at the president’s invitation. 

Powell did not offer the president any forward-looking views on interest rates but emphasized that monetary policy decisions would continue to be guided solely by economic data and the Federal Reserve’s legal mandate, the Fed said.

The Chair stressed “that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the statement said. 

Powell reiterated that he and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would set policy to support maximum employment and stable prices in line with statutory requirements. The Fed asserted that those decisions will be based solely on “careful, objective, and non-political analysis.”

The meeting follows a period of rising political scrutiny of the central bank, with Trump and some allies publicly urging the Fed to lower interest rates.

While the Fed has signaled it may hold rates steady in the near term, Powell has repeatedly emphasized the need for a careful, nonpartisan approach to policy. 

The central bank’s next policy decision is expected at the June FOMC meeting. 

Markets remained uncertain on Thursday after a trade court ruling nullified Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, and Nvidia’s earnings brought some cheer. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) gained 0.36%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) edged 0.03% higher. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100, rose 0.4%.

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