Trump Confirms Brief, One-Time Contact with Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh Amid Independence Concerns

President Donald Trump spoke recently to Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, the president said Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump and Warsh had spoken repeatedly since Warsh became chairman of the central bank in May. Trump said that story was wrong, but he confirmed that he and Warsh had been in touch "one time, briefly, a few days ago." The report came amid concerns about Fed independence from Trump, who has broken with most of his predecessors to weigh in on interest rate policy. Warsh has said he is happy to hear from the president or anyone else on interest rates but will make up his own mind about where rates should go. The Fed didn't respond to a request for comment. Direct contact between the president and the Fed has been rare in recent years. Trump had only one regular, scheduled meeting with former Chair Jerome Powell since returning to the presidency in 2025. The two also toured a Fed construction site together after Trump alleged that Powell had mismanaged the renovation project. Otherwise, Trump has put extreme pressure on the Fed. Last week, he revived an effort to fire Governor Lisa Cook, who is serving a 14-year term on the Fed's Board. It wasn't clear if the Trump-Warsh conversation came before or after that call. Trump has said Warsh should lower interest rates while insisting that the Fed chairman has the latitude to do otherwise. "If it was up to him, it would be different, but he's got a board," Trump said Monday. "But they made it sound like I live and breathe — you know, I speak to Kevin all the time, every time. I spoke to him one time," Trump said. Congress gave the Fed the power to set interest rates independently of political considerations. In the 1970s, a too-close relationship between Fed Chairman Arthur Burns and President Richard Nixon preceded a sharp bout of inflation. Warsh's calendar for June showed that he met three times with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, continuing a longstanding custom of the two officials meeting regularly for breakfast.