By Jeff Mason
PHOENIX (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday the Federal Reserve is independent and she would never interfere in its decisions if she wins the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“The Fed is an independent entity and as chairman I will never interfere in the decisions that the Fed makes,” Harris told reporters in Phoenix, Arizona.
Harris’s view contrasts sharply with that of Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, who said on Thursday that US presidents should have a say in decisions made by the Federal Reserve, the US central bank.
Harris, speaking to reporters before boarding a flight to Las Vegas for a campaign event, said she strongly disagreed with Trump’s position on the issue.
Harris, who officially became the Democratic presidential nominee earlier this week, said she plans to unveil her policy positions next week, with a focus on the U.S. economy.
“It will focus on the economy and what we need to do to cut costs and boost the economy in general,” she said.
A rise in the U.S. unemployment rate in July, announced last week, helped spark a sharp decline in global stock markets that continued into Monday before stocks partially recovered, as investors worried that the U.S. was heading toward a recession and that the Federal Reserve would need to respond forcefully.
Asked about those concerns and the Fed’s response, Harris said: “As we know, there was turmoil this week, but it seems to have calmed down on its own. We’ll see what decisions they make after that.”
Trump’s comments on Thursday offered the clearest indication yet of his interest in encroaching on the Fed’s independence if he retakes the White House.
“I feel like the president should at least have a say in” the Fed’s decisions, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
His comments come after a report this spring suggested that Trump allies had drafted proposals that would try to undermine the Fed’s independence if he won.
While the Trump campaign distanced itself from the Wall Street Journal report at the time, his remarks on Thursday suggest he is fully on board with one of the proposals’ main tenets: If he becomes president, Trump should be consulted on interest rate decisions, and proposals for federal bank regulation should be subject to White House review.
Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who was appointed by Trump and reappointed by President Joe Biden, is set to remain in office until May 2026.