ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump met Monday [2-4-19] evening with the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome H. Powell, whom the president has repeatedly criticized as jeopardizing economic growth by raising interest rates. It was the first meeting between the two men since Mr. Powell became the Fed’s chairman last year. The Fed said in a statement that the topics of discussion included ‘recent economic developments and the outlook for growth, employment and inflation.’ The Fed’s statement emphasized that Mr. Powell did not discuss the Fed’s plans for monetary policy with the president, ‘except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information.’ The meeting, at the White House, was described as an ‘informal dinner,’ lasting about 90 minutes. The Fed’s vice chairman, Richard Clarida, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were also in attendance.”
–Binyamin Appelbaum, “Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Dine at White House,” The New York Times online, February 4, 2019