President Joe Biden has pledged he will refrain from meddling on interest-rate policy ahead of a meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Biden said he would stand aside and let the Fed do its job — though he also put the blame for rising prices on the institution.
“The Federal Reserve has a primary responsibility to control inflation. My predecessor demeaned the Fed, and past presidents have sought to influence its decisions inappropriately during periods of elevated inflation,” Biden wrote. “I won’t do this. I have appointed highly qualified people from both parties to lead that institution. I agree with their assessment that fighting inflation is our top economic challenge right now.”
Powell did meet in the Oval Office with Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, who frequently tweeted criticism at his pick to lead the central bank.
The White House schedule says Biden and Powell will meet at 1:15 p.m. ET, to discuss the state of the American and global economy and addressing inflation.
The latest inflation data shows prices rising at a pace not seen in about 40 years, though both the consumer price index and the PCE price index have eased from their peaks. Christopher Waller, a Fed governor, said on Monday that core inflation is not coming down enough to meet the central bank’s 2% target anytime soon.
U.S. stock index futures ES00, -0.73% pointed lower after a three-day break, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury TMUBMUSD10Y, 2.822% rose ahead of the meeting.
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