Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Milan told CNBC on Friday that he only spoke to President Trump for a short time before the rate decision this week, putting pressure on how he voted.
Milan, who voted against a quarterly percentage point cut in favor of a double-sized move, said he made the decision independently.
“He called me on Tuesday morning to congratulate me. That was it,” the central banker said in an interview with “Scoke on the Street.” “I didn’t tell him how to vote. [Summary] of economic forecasts. ”
Not only did Milan vote against the quarterpoint move, but his “dot” looking at the Fed’s funding rates at the end of the year was well below the rest of the 19 participants at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. He also believes the fees are lower than most other officials.
Since Trump took office in his second term in January, questions about the Fed’s independence have intensified.
The president has pushed the Fed to aggressively lower interest rates, openly calling Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he nicknamed “too late.” In previous administrations, pressure on the Fed was generally more discrete.
Trump also said he would try to kick Gov. Lisa Cook out and litom-test Powell’s alternatives next year with an appetite to ease monetary policy.
In line with these policies, questions have arisen about the potential conflict in which Milan will take leave as head of the Economic Advisors Council rather than resigning. However, he called these concerns “a bit ridiculous” as he intends to stay with the Fed until the expiration period ending in January 2026.
“If the president said I would stay in my seat in the last January, I would resign immediately. There would be no doubt about that,” he said. “The fact that people are saying this is what you know, it’s a motivator in that I want to walk on Monday to get my full view [them] In detail, I feel I owe the world to the reason why my views are so different.
Milan speaks on Monday to the Economic Club in New York, a major platform for world leaders in business and politics, Trump is also talking about.
This is fast news. Please update for updates.
