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But once again, he hesitated, diplomatically bypassing a question from Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, suggesting that it would not be a good idea for him to publicly broadcast his confidential discussions with anyone.
"It's probably not appropriate to discuss my private conversations with government officials," Powell reacted after asking himself if he had "directly or indirectly" spoken to anyone. to the White House about it, telling Schatz: "It's a bit of a big question."
They highlighted the words of Powell's predecessor, Janet Yellen, who told the Marketplace facilitator, Kai Ryssdal, that the president's recent statements show "a lack of understanding of the impact of the Fed on the economy ".
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, a potential candidate for 2020, asked Powell when he agreed with the assessment of Trell's economic prowess by Yellen. He said, "I will not comment on that, senator."
Yellen, who is the first woman to hold the post of president of the Fed and who Trump let pass for a second term, told Ryssdal that she did not believe that the president understands monetary policy or what does the Fed. When asked if she thought Trump was mastering macroeconomic policy, she replied, "No, not at all."
"I doubt that he can even assert that the Fed's goals are maximum employment and price stability, goals assigned by Congress to the Fed," Yellen said in an interview with Ryssdal. "He commented on the fact that the Fed had an exchange rate target in order to support its commercial projects, or possibly target the US trade balance." And, you know, I think such comments show a lack of understanding of the Fed's impact on the economy and the appropriate policy objectives ".
A White House spokesperson did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
Since his appointment, Trump has regularly criticized Powell for disrupting markets last year on Wall Street and undermining his efforts to revive the economy by raising interest rates. He also described the Fed as a "loco" and claimed that his "instinct" knew more about the economy than Powell's brain.
The Fed has raised rates seven times since Trump took office, a classic political maneuver designed to prevent inflation from taking off. Four of these increases were under Powell.
The dinner took place weeks after White House assistants had initiated the idea of inviting the former banker to sit next to Trump for soothe her worries.
The Fed's statement at the end of the dinner indicated that Powell had conveyed to the President the same message that he had presented to the public following the first meeting of the central bank in 2019, and that it was not until the end of the day. he had not discussed what he expected from the Fed when setting future interest rates.
"I am very comfortable and very confident that this is exactly what the Fed will do," Powell said.
Finally, during the hearing, the President confirmed the current strategy of "patience" of the Fed, which observed the impact on the ongoing trade negotiations, the slowdown in growth in China and the exit of the United Kingdom of the European Union. the economy in general.
"When I say," We will be patient, "said Powell," that really means we're not in a hurry to make judgments about policy changes. We will allow the situation to evolve, as well as the balance of risks, and allow the introduction of data. And I think we are in a very good place to do it. "
In January, central banks unanimously agreed at their first meeting to keep the federal funds rate, which affects the cost of mortgages, credit cards and other loans, within a range of 2 , 25% to 2.5%. Some decision makers have gone so far as to suggest completely suspending future hikes.
While the Fed chairman painted an optimistic picture of the health of the US economy, he cautioned against the risks of a federal debt that skyrockets, reaching its highest level of all time $ 22 billion earlier this month.
"It is widely accepted that the federal government's debt is unsustainable," he said. "The idea that deficits do not matter for countries that can borrow in their own currency is simply wrong."
Asked about the need to raise the debt ceiling before the Friday deadline, Powell said it would be incomprehensible for the US government to cross this "dividing line" and not pay its bills. debts.
"It would be a very big problem not to pay all our bills due," Powell said.
The bipartisan congressional budget office said on Tuesday that if Congress could not raise the debt ceiling by Friday, the Treasury Department could only continue to run the government until it was over. ;in September. Until then, Mnuchin should apply so-called "extraordinary measures" to continue to pay the bills of America.
Powell said that a defect is "beyond all consideration".
"We've never gone beyond that – it's a bright line," Powell said. "And I hope we will never succeed."
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