The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its key borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point seems to be sitting well with the White House, if National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is any indication.<\/p>\n
In a CNBC interview Thursday, the day after the Fed’s move,<\/a> Hassett noted that the administration, and new Fed Governor Stephen Miran, had been pushing for a bigger reduction. Miran, who is on leave as head of the Council of Economic Advisers, pushed for a half-point cut but was outvoted 11 to 1 on the Federal Open Market Committee.<\/p>\n However, Hassett was not critical of the committee’s decision.<\/p>\n “The bottom line is that moving kind of slow and steady and heading towards a target, watch the data come in, that’s what prudent policy is,” he said on “Squawk Box<\/a>.” “So I know that my colleague Stephen wanted to go to 50 [basis points], but I think 25 was pretty broad consensus, and I think that’s a good first step in the right direction to much lower rates.”<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a>, who nominated Miran to the post, has yet to comment on the Fed’s decision.<\/p>\n In the past, Trump has launched a barrage of criticism at the central bank, nicknaming Chair Jerome Powell<\/a> “Too Late” and calling for quick and aggressive cuts. The president has suggested the benchmark federal funds rate should be 3 percentage points lower, a position not reflected in FOMC projections for the future course of policy in updates released Wednesday.<\/p>\n Hassett noted strong economic growth trending above 3% for the third quarter, something that normally wouldn’t argue for lower interest rates, particularly with inflation running above the Fed’s 2% target.<\/p>\n However, Trump has said cuts are needed to support the struggling U.S. housing market and to help manage financing costs for the nation’s $37 trillion debt.<\/p>\n
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