Trump summons Powell to discuss rates amid attacks on Fed

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump summoned Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the White House on Monday to discuss the economy and interest rates — issues on which Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed.

The Fed said in a statement that Powell’s message Monday to Trump was similar to his congressional testimony last week, when he suggested that the economy is in good shape and that the Fed would pause its rate cuts.

Trump has assailed Powell’s leadership of the Fed, an independent agency, for not cutting rates as aggressively as Trump has insisted. The president has called Fed officials “boneheads” and has asserted that the economy and stock market would be performing better if rates were lower or even negative.

Trump tweeted Monday that the meeting was “very good and cordial.”