Donald Trump expresses confidence in ‘very talented’ Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin despite market slide
- Standard & Poor's 500 closed at a 20-month low on Christmas Eve after meetings with major bank executives and top financial regulators
- US President complains about US Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell saying ‘they’re raising interest rates too fast’
US President Donald Trump expressed his confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is struggling to contain his first real crisis but has failed to satisfy investors unnerved by turmoil in Washington.
Trump said that Mnuchin is a “very talented guy, very smart person”, but complained again about the US Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell, saying that “they’re raising interest rates too fast.”
After weeks of sliding stock prices, Mnuchin convened an emergency meeting with top financial regulators on Monday, following a call with executives from six major banks the previous day.
The Treasury Department had issued a statement on Sunday saying banks have adequate liquidity for lending, surprising investors who did not know that might be an issue.
The moves intensified concerns about the Trump administration’s economic policies, in the wake of a Bloomberg News report that the president had discussed firing Powell.
Asked on Tuesday whether he also had confidence in Powell, Trump said the Federal Reserve is raising rates “because they think the economy is so good.”