(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh frequently talk about the economy, according to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.
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The top White House economic adviser’s comments Friday shed more light on the content and scope of phone conversations between Trump and Warsh since he took the helm of the Fed in May. Hassett said he doesn’t listen in on the calls, but insisted he is “sure” the president doesn’t pressure the Fed chief on interest-rate decisions.
“Kevin Warsh and the president have a very close, long-term relationship from New York City, from Florida, and they talk about the economy all the time,” Hassett said during an interview on Bloomberg Television. “I talk to Kevin as well, as does Scott Bessent, and so that’s like not really news.”
The periodic calls between Trump and Warsh are unusual in the modern history of relations between the White House and the Fed, and they raised concerns that the president was seeking to influence the central bank’s policy making.
Hassett said that Trump “respects the independence of the Fed.” Past presidents and Fed chairs have held calls and meetings, though they have been rare. Typically, a Fed leader’s primary point of contact with an administration is the Treasury secretary, and the pair have a breakfast meeting nearly every week. The Fed chair also communicates regularly with the NEC director.
Trump frequently assailed Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, as being “too late” to lower interest rates and launched a pressure campaign against him that included Justice Department subpoenas related to the bank’s headquarters renovation and a failed attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Those moves ended the modern precedent of the White House respecting the Fed’s independence.
But Trump has given more space on policy to Warsh, who thus far has held rates steady.
“The fact is that there’s somebody at the Fed now that the president is 100% sure is going to do what’s right based on the numbers and not play partisan games,” Hassett said.
Trump and Warsh have spoken multiple times since May, Bloomberg previously reported. Trump has asked about Warsh’s forecasts and opinions but has not pushed him to take any specific course of action, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Other people described the calls as irregular and infrequent.
