Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell – who President Donald Trump appointed to his post during his first term – recently revealed what he tells his colleagues when it comes to the president's constant threats: "Don't engage."
The Daily Beast reported Tuesday on Powell's attitude toward the administration, which he delivered during an event at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Rhode Island. The head of the nation's central bank said that he made sure his fellow Fed governors dismissed any political attempts to influence their work, and to simply stick to their job of managing monetary policy.
“We don’t engage,” Powell said. “We don’t, you know — our argument is [we're] doing our jobs. We don’t get into back and forth with external people. We just do our jobs. We keep our heads down and do our jobs. That’s what we do.”
“We’re based in Washington, D.C., and many, many people you know — Congress, and you know — there are often things seen through a lens of, ‘Is it good for this party or bad, or bad for this party or this politician?” he continued. “We’re just not looking at things that way. We’re looking at what’s the best thing for the people that we serve in the immediate term, what’s the best policy?”
“And no one, many people don’t believe us because they go, ‘Come on, come on, you’re really political,’ but the truth is, mostly people who are calling us political, it’s just a cheap shot," he added.
The Fed chair's remarks come on the heels of its meeting earlier this month, in which the Fed announced it was slightly reducing interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Powell insisted that the rate cut was made not because of Trump's persistent requests to cut rates, but simply because the economy needed stimulation after a year of lackadaisical growth, persistent inflation and an unemployment rate on the rise.
Powell has refused on multiple occasions to resign from his position as Fed chair, which expires in May of 2026. His position on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is slated to end on January 31, 2028. Trump has already appointed one member of the board this term, with former Council of Economic Advisors chairman Stephen Miran being confirmed on a party-line vote just prior to the Fed's September meeting. He's expected to appoint a loyalist to the chair role after Powell's term ends next year.
Click here to read the Beast's full report (subscription required).