Harris Responds to Trump Comments Fed Preparing Economic Policy Plan

Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday strongly disagreed with former President Donald Trump’s suggestion this week that U.S. presidents should have a say in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.

“I couldn’t … disagree more strongly,” Harris told reporters in Arizona, referring to the Republican presidential nominee’s comments. “The Fed is an independent entity, and as chairman, I will never interfere in the decisions that the Fed makes,” she added.

With just 87 days to go until the election, the vice president also told reporters she was preparing to unveil a formal economic policy platform in the coming days.

“We will focus on the economy and what we need to do to cut costs and boost the economy as well,” Harris said.

Harris’ comments drew a stark contrast with Trump, who said this week that the president should “at least do that.” [a] Say “in Fed policy.

“I think in my case, I’ve made a lot of money, I’ve been very successful, and I think I have a better instinct than, in many cases, people who would be on the Fed or the chairman,” Trump said Thursday during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Harris also said Saturday she is watching to see where the Fed moves next on interest rates.

As we know, we have had some turmoil this week. [in global markets]But it seems that the matter has settled, and we will see what happens. [decisions] “They make it then,” she told reporters. Harris added that she learns about the Fed’s decisions “almost as soon as you learn.”

At his press conference in Florida, Trump also recalled the public disagreements he had with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, a fellow Republican, when he was president, especially when the board decided to raise interest rates.

“I used to hang out with him,” Trump said.

Powell has repeatedly stressed how important it is for the Fed to be fully independent, so that the central bank can do its job.

The Fed, free from political pressure, can make its decisions based solely on whether they advance the long-term interests of the US economy – not whether voters approve of them.

While President Joe Biden has not tried to exert influence over the Fed one way or another, Powell does occasionally face pressure from the public.

After last week’s stock market turmoil, many investors have called on Powell to move more quickly to cut interest rates, ahead of the bank’s widely expected cuts in September.

For his part, Powell says he wants to know that the economy will reach the bank’s traditional 2% inflation target before he and the board move to cut interest rates.