Federal Reserve calendar lacks disclosure of Trump calls

The Federal Reserve will not publicly disclose communications between its chairman and President Donald Trump unless they are scheduled telephone calls or meetings, adding intrigue over the extent of Trump’s influence on Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, whom he appointed to replace Jerome Powell in part because Powell refused to do his bidding on interest rates.

Trump’s name is notably absent from Warsh’s recently released public calendar for August, which includes dozens of calls and meetings with officials and CEOs, even though the president said in early August that he had recently spoken with Warsh. Instead, the calendar now includes a disclaimer that “Board member calendars reflect scheduled meetings and calls,” indicating that cold calls from Trump would not be listed if they occurred. It is not clear when the disclaimer was added or why.

The lack of disclosure could aggravate the long-running complaint among members of Congress that the Fed, which is supposed to be an independent agency, is too much under the influence of the executive branch. The Washington Examiner could not determine whether either of those calls between Powell and Trump was “scheduled” or if they were cold calls from the president, as listed in the logs at the time, in the spirit of transparency.

Democrats have been very critical of Trump’s interference with the Fed, including in response to reports of communication between Trump and Warsh. For instance, U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to Warsh expressing concern that calls with the president were not included in the public record. They pushed for information about reports of the calls, and cited previous disclosures on the calendar from Powell.

Read the full story at Washington Examiner.