(Jan 14): US President Donald Trump dismissed Jamie Dimon’s criticism over the Justice Department probe into the Federal Reserve (Fed), saying the JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer was “wrong” to suggest he was undermining the independence of the central bank.
“I think it’s fine what I am doing,” Trump said. “And we have a bad Fed person.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Dimon expressed concern about the investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell over the cost of the central bank’s headquarters renovation and his subsequent congressional testimony about the project.
“Everyone we know believes in Fed independence,” Dimon said. “And anything that chips away at that is probably not a great idea. And in my view, will have the reverse consequences. It will raise inflation expectations and probably increase rates over time.”
Asked about the remarks, Trump said: “I think he’s wrong.”
Trump said earlier on Tuesday he would press ahead with plans to announce Powell’s replacement within “the next few weeks” despite the backlash to the probe, which has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers — including a threat by Senator Thom Tillis, a retiring North Carolina Republican and swing vote on the Senate Banking Committee. Tillis has said he would block new nominations to the Fed until the matter is resolved.
See also: Trump nominates WeatherTech’s MacNeil to be FTC commissioner
Trump also defended his proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for a year, which will likely require congressional legislation. Banks have warned the move could restrict access to credit and undermine popular rewards programmes.
“I think that people that are paying 28% interest should be protected,” Trump said. “We are talking about for a one-year period.”
Trump added that he did not think it was right for “Jamie Dimon or anybody else” to charge customers high interest rates on credit cards.
Uploaded by Isabelle Francis
