Washington
CNN
—
Some Federal Reserve officials are joining President Donald Trump in calling for lower interest rates as soon as July.
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman on Monday downplayed the potential impacts of Trump’s tariffs on prices and said the US central bank should swiftly lower rates to preserve the labor market’s health.
“It is time to consider adjusting the policy rate,” Bowman said. “Should inflation pressures remain contained, I would support lowering the policy rate as soon as our next meeting in order to bring it closer to its neutral setting and to sustain a healthy labor market.”
Bowman is the second Fed official to join Trump in calling for lower borrowing costs. On Friday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said tariffs will likely only result in a “one-off” increase in inflation. Both Bowman and Waller are Trump appointees.
For months, Fed officials have said they prefer to wait to see how Trump’s major policy shifts affect the US economy first before considering further rate cuts. At its policy meeting earlier this month, the Fed kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive time.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
