US President Donald Trump was asked point-blank whether he was disappointed with Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh over the central bank's decision to not cut interest rates, as pressure mounts from the White House for lower borrowing costs.
"No, Kevin's fantastic. He's a brilliant guy, smart. I know I'd love to see lower interest rates. But he's got a board and it's a political board and they want to keep rates up. But we fight through rates," Trump told reporters.
The remarks come after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady at 3.5–3.75% for a fifth straight meeting, with three regional bank presidents dissenting in favour of a hike rather than a cut — the first three-way dissent in the same direction since 2016.
Warsh, who took over as Fed chief in May after Trump nominated him to replace Jerome Powell, has faced scrutiny for holding a hawkish line on inflation despite having been seen as Trump's pick for a rate-cutting Fed.
Trump used the moment to pivot to the scale of American investment, calling it "the strongest investment ever made in a country."
ALSO READ: 'Warsh Will Do What He Wants': Trump Refrains From Pushing Fed Rate Cuts
He pointed to Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, noting that Huang was "spending a tremendous amount of money by hundreds of billions of dollars". "I don't know, that's not a bad business," Trump remarked.
Trump has repeatedly pressed the Fed to slash rates, arguing the US should have the lowest borrowing costs in the world, and has previously accused some Fed officials of having "bad intentions" for resisting cuts.
Warsh, for his part, has said the central bank will act on inflation "if needed" but has resisted giving forward guidance on the rate path, insisting the Fed will let markets react to developments "direct and unfiltered."
ALSO READ: Fed Meeting: Five Biggest Takeaways As Kevin Warsh Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged
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