Trump says he believes he should be able to influence Fed interest rate decisions

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Friday that he believes he should be able to influence the interest rate decisions of the next Federal Reserve chairman as he weighs candidates to assume the role.

"I think I certainly should have a role in talking to whoever the head of the Fed is, or the Fed," he told reporters at the White House. "I've done great. I've made a lot of money, very successful. I think my voice should be heard, but I'm not going to make the decision based on that. I'll be making a decision over the next few weeks."

The US president has fought for current Fed Chair Jerome Powell to aggressively cut the interest rate, which a divided Federal Reserve cut this week to a range between 3.5% - 3.75%. The Federal Open Market Committee, which makes decisions on interest rates, is wary of exacerbating already high inflation in the US, predicting that it will remain above its 2% target until 2028.

The latest annual rate pegs inflation at 2.8% in September, which is the most current month for data the Fed uses in its decisions.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal newspaper in an interview Friday that he is considering former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh or National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett to lead the Fed.

“Yes, I think he is. I think you have Kevin and Kevin. They’re both—I think the two Kevins are great,” he said. “I think there are a couple of other people that are great.”

Warsh, he said, "thinks you have to lower interest rates.”

“And so does everybody else that I’ve talked to," added Trump.