Live Updates: Trump to Visit Federal Reserve as He Tried to Put Epstein Behind Him

New York Times

5 days ago

President Trump will visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday, increasing the administration's pressure on the central bank after attacks over its management of the economy and renovations underway at its headquarters in Washington.
Mr. Trump is set to go there at 4 p.m. Eastern time, according to a daily schedule published by White House late Wednesday. No additional details were given about the visit beyond that it would last about an hour. It did not specify whether Mr. Trump would be meeting with Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair and the primary target of the president's repeated attacks on the central bank.
Public opinion about the Fed chair has become increasingly polarized
Percent saying they have at least a fair amount of confidence in (Fed chair name) to do or recommend the right thing for the economy
A spokesperson at the Fed said the central bank was working with the White House to accommodate the visit. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump decided on the visit this week, according to one person briefed on the decision. The Fed was not alerted in advance, the person said.
Top administration officials were already scheduled to tour the construction site on Thursday, a concession that was granted to them by the Fed as it has sought to deflect criticism of the project, which involves a pair of buildings that are close to 100 years old and undergoing a roughly $2.5 billion revamp.
In recent days, the central bank has published a virtual tour of the construction site, including footage of asbestos caulking being removed and blast-resistant windows being installed. It has also specified where certain features, like a rooftop terrace for staff, have been scaled back.
Mr. Trump's visit signifies an escalation in his pressure campaign against the Fed. Presidents do not typically go to the central bank in an official capacity, reflecting the longstanding independence of the institution from the White House.
The president's last direct interaction with Mr. Powell was in late May when they had a private meeting at the White House. The meeting, which was organized at Mr. Trump's request, was their first since the president returned to the White House.
At the time, they discussed the economy but Mr. Powell did not share any expectations for monetary policy, according to the central bank. The Fed chair instead told Mr. Trump that decisions about interest rates would 'depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook' and would be 'based solely on careful, objective and nonpolitical analysis.'
Republican lawmakers have also piled on the pressure in recent days. In a letter to Mr. Powell on Wednesday, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the powerful Senate Banking Committee, demanded more information about the central bank's renovations, after a briefing with Fed staff on July 17.
Mr. Scott highlighted what he described as 'distinct differences' between public plans regarding the project and what Mr. Powell shared during congressional testimonies in June as well as information the Fed posted on its website.
The lawmaker is now seeking documents verifying changes flagged by the Fed, including whether the buildings will include private dining rooms, water fountains and new marble, among other features that have drawn attention. Mr. Scott called on Mr. Powell to respond by Aug. 8, 'to effectuate your pledge to transparency.'
Since returning to office, Mr. Trump and his top aides have been relentless in their criticism of Mr. Powell, who has resisted the president's demands so far this year to significantly lower interest rates.
The Fed paused interest rate cuts in January after a series of reductions at the end of last year, a move that Mr. Trump on Wednesday branded as 'political.'
'Our economy is so strong now, we're blowing through everything, we're setting records,' he said in the Oval Office. 'People aren't able to buy a house because this guy is a numbskull, he keeps the rates too high, and probably is doing it for political reasons.'
The president claimed that Mr. Powell had cut rates 'just before the election to try to help Kamala, or whoever he was trying to help, he probably didn't know.'
He has called for interest rates to be about 3 percentage points lower, or around 1 percent, a level that is typically associated with an economic downturn. He has also tied the need for lower borrowing costs to the country having to spend less on financing its deficit, a reason completely at odds with how the Fed typically sets monetary policy.
A line chart of the federal funds target rate range which the Fed left unchanged at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent.
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The Fed is widely expected to again keep interest rates steady when it meets next week.
Mr. Trump's ire with Mr. Powell has grown so acute that he has openly toyed with firing him, which would likely cause chaos in financial markets and would be legally fraught. A president is limited in his ability to remove a Fed chair without there being evidence of extreme misconduct or other forms of 'cause.'
Legal experts view the administration's focus on the Fed's renovations as a potential avenue to establish that cause.
Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, on Wednesday called on Mr. Powell to either be fired or to resign. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has taken a more moderate stance, saying there was nothing to suggest that the chair needed to immediately step down, even as he called on the central bank to conduct an 'exhaustive internal review of its non-monetary policy operations.'
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.