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The GOP's growing opposition torpedoed the nomination of conservative commentator Stephen Moore as governor of the US Federal Reserve on Thursday, the latest in a series of setbacks that increasingly reveal President Trump's attempts to intervene in the economy.
Despite his efforts, Trump has failed to stop rising gasoline prices and has shown little influence over Senate Republicans and Fed officials when he has asked leaders to adhere to its guidelines for managing the global economy.
Moore is a long-time Trump ally who served as Trump's economic adviser in the 2016 campaign. Trump recently revealed that he wanted Mr. Moore to join the seven-member board of governors. the Fed, believing that the loyalist would take action to stop interest rate increases in order to accelerate growth.
But the selection sparked bipartisan criticism because of Moore's earlier comments on women and controversial views he had on the economy, among other issues.
In recent days, Moore had tried to stand out from many of his earlier statements and last Thursday again he had insisted that he did not opt out.
A few hours later, however, Trump wrote in a statement on Twitter that Moore was withdrawing from consideration.
"Steve Moore, a great economist for growth and a very talented person, has decided to withdraw from the Fed process. Steve won the battle of ideas, "wrote Trump. ". . . I asked Steve to work with me for the future economic growth of our country. "
Trump's efforts to get Moore on the Fed's board were another example of attempts to use the executive powers and platform of the bully to thwart the economy in the run-up to the 2020 elections .
In April, Loyalist Herman Cain, of Trump, announced that he was also dropping a place on the Fed's board of directors following a backtracking. bipartite.
This week, Fed officials refused to cut interest rates despite Trump's demands 24 hours earlier. They also seemed to ignore his call to relaunch a controversial program of Fed asset purchases used during the recession and the following years to foster economic growth.
And although Trump has repeatedly tried to put pressure on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to lower energy prices, the foreign executives of the oil exporters seem to make fun of his demands and the oil cost is near its highest level since October.
"Everyone is worried about overproduction and under-delivery, and it's likely to push that to the extreme," said Jason Furman, one of Barack's top economic advisers. Obama.
Trump told councilors that he believed that the strength of the economy would be key to his re-election next year. It has taken a hands-on approach to hiring and stimulating growth by November 2020.
Many measures of the economy are stronger than they were before it took office. The stock market is on the rise, economic growth and wage growth have accelerated and the unemployment rate has declined. Many Republicans have said that the 2017 tax law is an essential part of the success of the economy.
But Trump has been criticized for putting emphasis on short-term economic stimulus, including significant tax cuts and increased government spending, in order to warm up the economy. economy more than normal at this stage of the business cycle. Growth-enhancing measures also carry long-term risks, including a steep federal deficit that is expected to decline during a period of strong growth.
For its part, the Fed, which had raised interest rates along with the improvement of its economy, stopped doing this year, fearing a global slowdown. Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell said on Wednesday that he could not consider the type of rate reduction desired by Trump.
"We think our policy is appropriate for the moment," he said at the end of the Fed's two-day meeting.
Trump's problems with the Fed could be negated by rising oil prices, against which many presidents have fought in recent decades, especially during the election years.
Trump has convinced foreign executives for more than a year to intervene on the oil markets in a way that, he hoped, would drive down prices. Trump insisted as recently as last week that Saudi officials had promised to help him.
"We talked to Saudi Arabia and others about the increase in the flow of oil. All are in agreement, "he wrote on April 26 on Twitter.
Saturday, however, his description of relations with Saudi leaders was less optimistic during a speech in Wisconsin.
"We defend them. We are subsidizing Saudi Arabia; they have nothing but money, "Trump said. While acknowledging Saudi purchases of US goods, Trump added that he had called the Saudi monarch. "I called the king. I love the king I said, "King, we lose our buttocks to defend you, king, and you have a lot of money."
These tensions arise as oil prices are expected to increase further in the coming weeks before the summer driving season.
"The Presidents are doing everything in their power to maintain the strength of the economy. It's not the first time we've seen the price of a barrel of oil, but we're also trying to work with the Saudis to boost production, "said Andy Laperriere, head of US policy research at Cornerstone. . Macro "What's different is normally that the speaker does it quietly rather than tweeting it."
And it seems that some foreign officials may not be taking Trump's pressure lightly.
On Thursday, during a visit to Tehran, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo reportedly hinted that political leaders should stop trying to influence oil prices so that they can not go out of their way. They correspond to their own policies. Trump was the most virulent political figure wanting to push for lower oil prices, and he was particularly interested in OPEC.
"I told my colleagues at OPEC that you have to leave your passports at home to come into this organization," Barkindo said, according to several reports.
Trump's push has sometimes celebrated the movement of oil prices, but he's also publicly angry when he feels things are going in the wrong direction, as they have done in recent weeks.
Four months ago he had reason to exult. The average price of gasoline at the national level had dropped to 2.27 dollars a gallon. These were down about 70 cents since the summer of 2018 and 63 cents since October, generating about $ 275 million more per day in consumers' pockets during the holiday season.
Trump claimed credit.
"Do you think the price of gas is so low and is falling? Low gas prices are like another tax break! ", Is exclaimed Trump on Twitter on January 1st.
But since then, the price of a barrel of crude Brent, international reference, jumped 44%. This is because new restrictions on the sale of Iranian oil, imposed by the Trump government, came into effect on Thursday.
Trump tried to assure citizens that tougher penalties would not affect gas prices in the United States, but many people were worried about what could happen, a person informed of the talks said. under cover of anonymity they were not allowed to disclose internal conversations.
Trump will have several other opportunities in the coming weeks to fulfill other economic promises. It is therefore unlikely that these recent developments will marginalize it.
This week the Democrats said they had agreed with Trump to put in place a $ 2 trillion infrastructure program, but they had to start negotiations this month on how to fund it. The question of funding major road and bridge projects has created divisions for decades and neither side has revealed what it could do.
Trump is also in the final stages of trying to conclude trade agreements with China, Canada and Mexico. He and his team have made progress over the past year, but new signs of tension are emerging.
And Trump will always have the opportunity to appoint two governors for the Fed, but there was no immediate clue as to their identity.
With all these unresolved initiatives, Trump has tried to shed positive light on the economy, a theme he should continue to hammer while responding to economic events for the rest of his term.
"The fact is that every economic aspect of our country is the best of what it's ever been!", Trump wrote on Twitter on Twitter.
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