U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Elizabeth Frantz | Nathan Howard | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump will visit the Federal Reserve on Thursday, the White House said, escalating his pressure campaign against Chairman Jerome Powell.
This is the first time in nearly two decades that an American president has made an official trip to the central bank.
American presidents have traditionally respected the independence of the central bank, which is insulated both in law and in practice from the political whims of elected officials.
Trump’s visit is a remarkable symbolic move on that independence, bringing Trump’s drumbeat of criticism over Powell’s refusal to lower interest rates right to the chairman’s doorstep.
The White House released a schedule on Wednesday that Trump would visit the Federal Reserve at 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.