Fed Chair Powell met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, emphasizing that interest rate decisions must remain free from political influence.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, amidst the president's repeated calls for the central bank to lower interest rates. The meeting was confirmed by the Fed in a statement, which emphasized that the path of monetary policy was not discussed, and that Powell stressed that future decisions would depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook.According to the Fed statement, the meeting was held at the President's invitation, where Powell and Trump discussed economic developments, including growth, employment, and inflation. The statement also highlighted Powell's commitment to setting monetary policy on "careful, objective, and non-political analysis," reiterating the Fed's independence from political influence.The meeting comes at a sensitive time for the US economy, with Trump pushing potentially inflationary tariffs and the Fed trying to balance its mandate to provide full employment and stable prices. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump believes the Fed chair is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which he claims is putting the US at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries.Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to lower interest rates through his Truth Social media outlet, claiming that it would be beneficial for the economy. However, the Fed has not eased monetary policy since December, just before Trump took office for his second nonconsecutive term. The FOMC has maintained a cautious stance, with futures market pricing indicating that the central bank won't resume cutting rates until at least September, bypassing meetings in June and July.The meeting between Powell and Trump marks the first since the president began his second term, and comes after Powell confirmed earlier this month that the two had not yet met. Powell has been adamant about maintaining the Fed's independence and not seeking meetings with the president. The Fed chair has emphasized that monetary policy decisions are based on careful analysis of economic data, rather than political considerations. With tariff uncertainty lingering, markets expect the Fed to stay put on rates until there's more clarity, and the central bank is likely to continue prioritizing its dual mandate of full employment and stable prices.