Mnuchin: Trump liked Fed Chair Powell's dovish interest rates speech

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Monday that President Trump liked Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell's speech last week, in which Powell struck a less aggressive tone and said interest rates are "just below" the level that would neither promote nor restrict economic growth.

Between the lines: Trump has publicly and repeatedly expressed disappointment in Powell, even calling the Fed's interest rate hikes a "much bigger problem than China" in an interview with the Washington Post last week. Trump’s approval of Powell’s speech — which was widely interpreted to be less hawkish — makes it clear that Powell has to do one thing to get back in Trump’s good graces: stop raising interest rates. As a politically independent institution, however, none of this should matter much to the Fed.