Trump should be 'free' to criticize the Fed, senior official says

Washington: President Donald Trump should be free to voice his opinion about the US Federal Reserve, a senior bank official said Thursday, while defen...

Washington: President Donald Trump should be free to voice his opinion about the US Federal Reserve, a senior bank official said Thursday, while defending the central bank's independence to tackle inflation.

"Criticism of what we do, that's the job," Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "If you don't like being criticized, don't take the job."

"The President is free to say whatever they want on policy, just like anybody else," added Waller, whom Trump nominated to the Fed's Governing Board, and who has a permanent vote on the bank's rate-setting committee.

Waller's remarks follow heavy criticism from Trump about the Fed's decision not to cut rates since his return to office.

Trump renewed his criticism of Fed Chair Powell last week after the European Central Bank voted to cut interest rates, widening the gap in rates with the United States, where the Fed has voted repeatedly to pause cuts in the face of stubborn inflation.