For the Fed, Ignoring Trump Is Good Policy
Jerome Powell is doing his job and disregarding the tweets.
Focus.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg
Today’s Federal Reserve decision to raise interest rates was largely a nonevent, given how thoroughly markets had expected it. Nonetheless, it offered a comforting reminder that Fed officials know how to do their job — which these days means ignoring public statements from the chief executive and focusing on the economy.
For decades, U.S. presidents have refrained from criticizing the central bank in public, allowing it to go about its duty of maintaining stable prices and maximum employment in relative peace. Not so President Donald Trump. In recent months, he has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Fed’s monetary policy, saying that he would prefer an easier-money approach. “I’m not thrilled,” he said in August.