Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, sidestepped numerous questions at his news conference on Thursday from reporters who wanted to know what the central bank chief thought of Donald Trump, the president-elect.
But eventually, Fed policymakers, economists, and analysts will have to take into consideration what is probably going to be a bold economic and political agenda from the fervent Republican.
During his first term, Trump had a negative opinion of the Powell Fed, referring to policymakers as “boneheads” and even likening Powell to a golfer who was unable to putt. Powell mainly ignored the criticism when he was nominated by Trump in November 2017 and started office the following February. He did the same on Thursday.
Powell was asked about the Trump triumph and its implications at least half a dozen times before saying, “I’m not going to get into any of the political things here today, but thank you,” during the press conference. After the round of politically charged questioning, Powell ended the hearing a few minutes earlier than usual, at 3:12 p.m. ET.
Source (CNBC)
