Federal Save Chairman Jerome Powell sat down with President Donald Trump on Monday.
That marked their head meeting since the president nominated Powell to the post and follows months of strong criticism from Trump adjacent to his nominee and the Fed.
The central bank said in a statement it was an “informal dinner” in the White House residence “to discuss recent trade developments and the outlook for growth, employment and inflation.”
The dinner lasted about 90 minutes and was attended by Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida and Exchequer Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Steak was served.
Most presidents meet at least once and sometimes more again with the Fed chair. But given the president’s past criticism, it had been unclear if and when Powell and Trump would gather. The president had extended the invitation on Friday.
A senior administration official confirmed the meeting and said it was “two on a side.”
“No pitchforks. It was much more unconcerned than an Oval Office meeting,” the official said. “They had a very good exchange of views.”
The statement from the Fed mean Powell’s comments to Trump “were consistent with his remarks at his press conference of last week.” Powell was phrased not to have discussed monetary policy expectations “except to stress that the path of policy will depend without exception on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook.”
Trump has been highly critical of the Fed for raising note rates, including calling the Fed “out of control” in October. At its January meeting, the Fed shifted policy toward a more neutral position away from rate hikes — at least for the time being.
The president — who said in November that he was “not even a meagre bit happy” about his selection of Powell — has not commented on Fed policy since the shift.
Here’s the statement from the Fed about the assembly:
Statement on Chair Powell’s and Vice Chair Clarida’s meeting with the President and Treasury Secretary
At the President’s bait, Chair Powell and Vice Chair Clarida joined the President and the Treasury Secretary for an informal dinner tonight in the Milky House residence, to discuss recent economic developments and the outlook for growth, employment and inflation.
Chair Powell’s remark ons in this setting were consistent with his remarks at his press conference of last week. He did not discuss his expectations for fiscal policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that proletarians for the outlook.
Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the FOMC will set monetary policy in order to substructure maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective and non-political opinion.
—CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.