WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official says she favors two more interest rate increases this year despite complaints from President Donald Trump that the Fed’s continuing rate hikes risk slowing the U.S. economy.
Esther George, president of the Fed’s Kansas City regional bank, says she thinks two more rate hikes this year “could be appropriate” and says Trump’s comments won’t affect her policy stance.
“Expressions of angst about higher interest rates are not unique to this administration,” George says in a CNBC interview. “Congress anticipated this kind of tension when they designed the central bank, and they put firewalls in place so that the central bank can be independent and carry forward with its decision making.”
Her remarks come as central bankers gather for an annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
