Trump finally gave someone the official Federal Reserve Chair job. Still, it now seems the President is far more concerned with complimenting the guy's striking good looks and playing phone tag with him like a preteen girl than with actually accomplishing anything related to the job.
According to a rather bizarre new report from the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump has found himself a new phone buddy in recently appointed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, allegedly calling the man all hours of the night, regularly expressing his obsession with Warsh's physical appearance, leading to concerns regarding the Federal Reserve's independence, given Trump's uncomfortably close relationship with its leadership.
The Journal reports, "The President calls Warsh in bursts, the people said—several times in a stretch of days, then quiet for longer periods. [Trump] often raves about the Fed chair’s looks after he sees Warsh on television, according to a person who has been in the room for the President’s remarks."
It remains unclear whether Trump and Warsh have even discussed the monetary policy that Warsh was appointed to handle.
According to a source with knowledge of their conversations, Trump has failed to raise the topic of interest rates at all since Warsh was confirmed as Fed Chair by the Senate. Instead, it appears that the pair are all but playing footsie like a couple of schoolkids.
While the sitting US President appoints the Federal Reserve Chair, the central bank is expected to set interest rates entirely independently of the White House—an intentionally separated structure meant to keep partisan politics out of economic decisions that will affect borrowing costs for the American public.
Many critics are beginning to wonder if that intended separation is deteriorating between the Trump White House and his new Fed Chair bestie.
"It isn’t unusual for presidents and Fed chairs to meet on occasion, but in recent decades the contacts have generally been more formal and arranged in advance, choreographed to avoid the perception the President is influencing rate decisions," WSJ reports.
"Trump regularly bypasses formal communication channels, keeping up with a wide circle of contacts—including world leaders, business executives and lawmakers—through his personal cellphone."
The relationship between the two has grown so concerning that Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the Federal Reserve, have begun to demand more thorough disclosures from Warsh regarding his interactions and personal relationship with the President.
The Journal's report notes that the chummy relationship between Trump and Warsh "has animated concerns" about the central's bank's state of independence.
Apparently, Trump just simply cannot help himself around a good-lookin' guy.
