President Trump blasted Jerome Powell as a “lousy” Federal Reserve chair for failing to more aggressively lower interest rates, while also taking him to task for an ongoing construction project at the central bank.
“He’s been a lousy Fed chairman,” Mr. Trump told “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil in an exclusive network interview Tuesday in Dearborn, Michigan. “He was reappointed by Biden. I was a little surprised at that, because I didn’t think he really earned his stripes.”
Mr. Trump’s latest remarks follow the Department of Justice serving the Fed with grand jury subpoenas last week in connection with a criminal investigation into Powell over the renovation of Federal Reserve office buildings.
The costs of renovating the Fed’s Washington headquarters and a neighboring building have swelled to $2.5 billion, from a previous estimate of $1.9 billion. Mr. Trump said in the interview that he “could have fixed them up for $25 million” and said Powell is “either corrupt or incompetent.”
The White House has denied directing federal prosecutors to investigate Powell, and Mr. Trump on Tuesday brushed off a question about whether the Justice Department probe amounts to political retribution.
“I can’t help what it looks like,” Mr. Trump told Dokoupil.
Powell on Sunday attributed the Justice Department investigation to Fed officials resisting pressure from Mr. Trump to lower its benchmark interest rate. Mr. Trump, who nominated Powell to lead the Fed in 2017, has repeatedly accused the central bank chief of being too cautious in lowering interest rates.
Three former Fed chiefs — Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan — defended Powell this week in a strongly worded statement, accusing the Trump administration of seeking to undermine the Fed’s traditional independence.
Mr. Trump also touted his administration’s economic record, telling Dokoupil, “Look, I’ve created the greatest economy, maybe, in history, and you’re seeing that now.”
