Trump blasts 'hostile' Fed and says Warsh 'has to do what he has to do' on interest rates

By Robert Schroeder

President renews vow to remove Fed's Cook

President Donald Trump shakes hands with new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh during a swearing-in ceremony at the White House in Washington on May 22.

President Donald Trump declined to offer advice to Fed chief Kevin Warsh following the latest U.S. jobs report, saying in an interview that the new chair "has to do what he has to do."

Speaking in a CNBC interview Thursday, Trump said Warsh at the Fed faces a board that is "a little bit hostile."

"He's got a board that maybe is a little bit hostile, and you know, unfortunately, and maybe a board that wants to do the wrong thing," the president said.

Trump has long favored lower interest rates. Earlier Thursday, a top White House aide said he thought Warsh would be able to convince his colleagues that rates can be lowered.

The White House respects the independence of the Fed, Trump adviser Kevin Hassett said in a separate CNBC interview, but also has "high confidence that Chairman Warsh is going to be able to convince his colleagues" of the case for lower rates.

See MarketWatch's live coverage of the June jobs report.

June's jobs report, released Thursday, showed the smallest hiring in four months.

Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander Bank U.S. Capital Markets, said the market's "substantial kneejerk reaction" that the weaker June payroll readings will allow the Fed to put off rate hikes is a mistake.

"I would expect that most policymakers would continue to regard the labor market as stable and neither too hot nor too cold," Stanley said, in a note to clients.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA closed at a fresh record on Thursday, while the S&P 500 SPX ended flat and the Nasdaq COMP ended lower.

Trump, in the interview, also said he continues to plan to remove Fed governor Lisa Cook from the central bank's board, following a Supreme Court ruling that he doesn't have the authority to do so.

He said he plans to succeed in his effort by "winning the case."

Now read: Here's what's next for the Fed's Lisa Cook after her victory at the Supreme Court

Greg Robb contributed

-Robert Schroeder

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-02-26 1830ET