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During an appearance on “The Claman Countdown” with Liz Claman, Raphael Bostic, the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, provided some candid remarks about President Donald Trump’s threats to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, the outlook for interest rates and the impact of tariffs on the economy.
Bostic downplayed the Trump–Powell drama. He said, “I try not to spend energy on that. I’m laser-focused on understanding where the economy is trying to go, so our policy discussions stay grounded in what matters.”
Bostic also said he has not spoken with Powell as he doesn’t attempt to call him unless it is “really important.”
Earlier Wednesday, FOX Business reported that Trump asked House Republicans in a meeting if he should fire Powell, and Trump said, “Almost every one of them said I should.”
TRUMP ASKS HOUSE REPUBLICANS IF HE SHOULD FIRE FED CHAIR JEROME POWELL, SOURCES SAY
Trump wants Powell to cut rates, and thinks they should be three points lower. Bostic responded diplomatically, noting that the Fed is a committee and is not controlled by one person.
“There’s robust discussion about what a pathway to move forward is. One thing I really appreciate about our committee is we do have a diversity of views, and every time I go into a meeting, I listen hard to what folks are seeing and hearing and why they are falling out where they are. I would say, I go into every meeting, not locked into a particular course of action.”
Regarding the possibility of a rate cut, Bostic said Trump’s imposed tariffs are an issue that is creating some uncertainty in the market, but also said businesses in the southeast are beginning to feel some pricing pressures.
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Bostic said, “I’ve actually come to the view that it may be several months more, maybe even into 2026, before we’ll see the full effects, but I really want to make sure that I understand what the full trend is like.”
He continued, “One other thing I would just say, in our surveys and in our conversations with leaders across the Southeast, they all tell us the price pressures are real.”
When Claman asked pointedly about the possibility of no rate cut until 2026, Bostic said, “What I’m saying is that everything is on the table, and I really want the data to guide us. If it’s the case that we see the prices start to evolve in a consistent and gradual, steady way away from our target, then that is going to lead us to have to think about a particular policy approach.”
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