U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks with members of the media before boarding Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, U.S., August 7, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday fiercely disagreed with former President Donald Trump’s suggestion this week that U.S. presidents should have a say in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.
“I couldn’t … disagree more strongly,” Harris told reporters in Arizona, referring to the Republican presidential nominee’s comments. “The Fed is an independent entity, and as president, I would never interfere in the decisions that the Fed makes.”
With just 87 days until the election, the vice president also told reporters that she is preparing to unveil an official economic policy platform in the coming days.
“It’ll be focused on the economy and what we need to do to bring down costs and also strengthen the economy,” said Harris.
Harris’ comments drew a stark contrast between her and Trump, who said this week that the president should “have at least [a] say” in Fed policy.
“I think that in my case, I made a lot of money, I was very successful, and I think I have a better instinct than, in many cases, people that would be on the Federal Reserve or the chairman,” Trump said Thursday during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Harris also said Saturday that she is watching to see where the Fed moves next on interest rates.
“As we know we’ve there was some turbulence this week [in global markets], but it seems to have settled itself, and we’ll see what [decisions] they make next,” she told reporters. Harris added that she learns about Fed decisions “about the same time you do.”
At his Florida press conference, Trump also reminisced about the very public disagreements he used to have with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a fellow Republican, while he was president. Especially when the board decided to raise interest rates.
“I used to have it out with him,” Trump said.
Powell has repeatedly emphasized how important it is for the Fed to be completely independent, in order for the central bank to fulfill its mission.
Free from political pressure, the Fed board can make its decisions based solely on whether they further the U.S. economy’s long-term interests — not whether voters approve of them.
And while President Joe Biden has not tried to wield influence over the Federal Reserve Board one way or another, Powell occasionally faces pressure from the general public.
After this past week’s tumult in the stock markets, many investors called on Powell to move more quickly to lower interest rates, ahead of the bank’s widely expected cuts coming in September.
For his part, Powell says he wants to know that the economy is going to hit the bank’s traditional 2% inflation target before he and the board move to cut interest rates.