Trump Claims he Discussed Interest Rates With Fed Chair. Official Calendars Tell a Different Story.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's latest official calendar contains no record of a conversation with President Donald Trump, even though Trump publicly said he had spoken to Warsh about how to vote on interest rates in September.

The September calendar is the fifth consecutive monthly schedule since Warsh took office in May to show no calls or meetings with Trump. It does, however, list interactions with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, lawmakers, business executives and other government officials.

Speaking to reporters on Sept. 16, shortly after the Fed voted to raise interest rates, Trump said he had advised Warsh to support the other policymakers even though he disagreed with their decision.

"I talked to Kevin, and I said, 'You might as well vote with the Board because it's not going to matter,'" Trump said, according to the official transcript of his remarks.

Asked whether he had tried to influence Warsh's vote, Trump said he had not convinced him and told the Fed chair to do what he wanted. He also said he wanted Warsh to remain independent, despite criticizing the central bank for keeping borrowing costs too high.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point that day, bringing the target range to 3.75% to 4%. All 12 voting members, including Warsh, supported the increase as the central bank sought to bring inflation back toward its 2% target.

Warsh has neither confirmed nor denied the conversation described by Trump, and the White House has declined to specify when it occurred, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The missing entry does not necessarily mean the conversation never happened. The Fed's website states that board members' calendars reflect scheduled meetings and calls, meaning unscheduled conversations may not be recorded.

Four Democratic senators had questioned Warsh's communications with the White House before the September calendar became public.

In an Aug. 19 letter, Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Jack Reed, Elizabeth Warren and Angela Alsobrooks asked Warsh to confirm whether he had spoken with Trump since taking office. If so, they wanted his published calendars revised to reflect those contacts.

The senators also sought details of the conversations, citing reports that Trump had called Warsh repeatedly, sometimes several times within a few days.

Trump had also acknowledged speaking briefly with Warsh in August, but that month's calendar contains no corresponding entry.

During a Senate Banking Committee hearing in July, Warsh declined to disclose details of his conversations with the president, saying he would comply with legal requirements.

The Fed's calendar webpage now specifies that published schedules reflect planned meetings and calls. The Washington Post reported that the wording was added after senators began questioning Warsh's interactions with Trump.

Previous Fed chairs kept more detailed records of presidential contacts. A Washington Post review found that Jerome Powell's calendars listed about a dozen meetings or calls with presidents during his eight years as chair, including eight with Trump. One was a five-minute call on March 8, 2019, while Powell was at Stanford University.

Research by Johns Hopkins University economist Thomas Drechsel identified more than 800 contacts between U.S. presidents and Federal Reserve officials from 1933 to 2016. The study used historical calendars and presidential diaries to examine political pressure on monetary policy.

Drechsel told The Washington Post that Warsh deserved the benefit of the doubt but should face questions about his interactions with Trump.

"It's important. We should know," he said. "I would love to know, and the American public should know."