Tuesday 31 May 2022 09:25 PM Biden says he will 'respect the Fed' during Oval Office meeting with chair ... trends now
President Joe Biden vowed to 'respect the Fed' during a meeting at the White House with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday as the administration desperately searches for a way to alleviate the growing financial burden most Americans are facing.
After his brief remarks Biden ignored reporters' shouted questions about why he believes inflation has been hitting record highs during his tenure in the White House.
'My plan is, address inflation - starts with a simple proposition. Respect the Fed, respect the Fed's independence, which I have done and will continue to do,' the president said.
'My job as president is to not only nominate highly qualified individuals for that institution, but to give them the space they need to do their job. I'm not going to interfere with their critically important work. The Fed has dual responsibilities - one full employment, two - stable prices.'
Biden noted that Powell, like him, is 'laser focused' on bringing down inflation.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who preceded Powell as Fed chair, attended the meeting as well.
Biden''s economic adviser Brian Deese later called the meeting 'constructive' during the daily White House press briefing.
The Director of the National Economic Council did not go into details on the substance of the meeting but said it 'focused on the outlook for the US and the global economy.'
President Joe Biden made brief remarks to the press during his meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Biden summoned Powell to the White House to discuss the rising cost of consumer goods
'I won't go into detail of the private meeting other than to reinforce that the president underscored to Chair Powell in the meeting, what he has underscored consistently ... that he respects the independence of the Federal Reserve, and will provide the Federal Reserve the space and the independence that it needs to tackle inflation,' Deese said.
The average cost of consumer goods rose 8.3 percent from a year ago, the latest data show. The sharp increase is nevertheless a welcome slowdown after prices rose 8.5 percent in March.
The figures, from April were still close to the highest level since the summer of 1982.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Monday, Biden warned Americans that the rapid pace of job creation likely will not continue - but insisted that there was no need to panic over the looming economic storm.
Referencing the article, Deese sought to outline what points make up the White House's 'economic priorities.'
The first, he said, is recognizing that there is 'no question that the global economy, right now, faces a range of significant challenges' including inflation.
Economics adviser Brian Deese also discussed the meeting at Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's daily press briefing. Deese called the face-to-face 'constructive' but gave few other details
Inflation hit a four-decade high in March, falling slighting in April to a still significant high of 8.3 percent
'The second point is that, as the as the president is making fighting
