A former Trump administration official predicted the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in 2024 to “juice the economy” before the election.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady Wednesday, but signaled that rates could be lowered in 2024, despite inflation still being relatively high. “They will juice the economy in an election year by giving us rate cuts for Joe Biden,” Kevin Hassett, who chaired the Council of Economic Advisors for President Donald Trump, told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.
“They played their hand and they played it early,” Hassett added.
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The Federal Reserve raised interest rates 11 times between March 2022 and July 2023 to combat inflation, which reached a high of 9.1% in 2022.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell predicted inflation would be transitory during an August 2021 speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, then admitted that inflation ended up lasting longer than he “expected” a month later.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted she was wrong to underestimate the risk of inflation during a June 2022 CNN appearance.
“Inflation is not under control and will cut interest rates anyway,” Hassett told Kudlow. “I bet you 20 bucks.”
President Joe Biden currently has a 37.1% approval rating on the economy compared to a 60.4% disapproval rate, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls between Nov. 9 and Dec. 14. Only 32.7% of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of inflation, compared to 64.7% who disapproved, according to RealClearPolitics.
Harold Hutchison on December 18, 2023
