Kevin Hassett, economic adviser to President Donald Trump, said today that the position of the head of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, is not in danger, after the president has questioned the decisions of the central bank.
Asked by reporters about Powell’s tenure as chairman of the Fed, Hassett replied: “Yes, of course, 100%,” he said.
Before this answer, the reporters returned to insist on if the position of Powell did not endanger, to which Hassett, that is director of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA, in its acronyms in English) of the Government, said “in absolute”.
Yesterday, Trump again complained that the Fed “is raising interest rates too quickly.”
According to the press, Trump is angry about the rise in interest rates ordered by the US central bank last week and has come to value the possibility of firing Powell; although Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin assured this weekend that Powell will remain in office.
In recent months Wall Street has shown signs of weakness, and Dow Jones Industrials, its main indicator, has fallen 12% since October.
In fact, Wall Street closed its worst week on Friday since the 2008 financial crisis.
In addition, 25% of the Administration is closed from midnight on Friday to Saturday due to a disagreement over the approval of funds to cover the wall with Mexico and, according to the White House, the Government could continue without funding until 2019 to the difficulty of reaching a budgetary pact.
Despite the stock market crashes, the national economy is experiencing a good moment with an unemployment rate of 3.7%, at lows of almost half a century, and inflation close to the annual target of 2%.
