President Trump’s top economic adviser on Thursday gave Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) “high marks” for her line of questioning during a hearing a day earlier with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, praised the first-term congresswoman for pressing Powell on the relevance of the Phillips curve. Ocasio-Cortez argued that the theory, which posits that low unemployment can accelerate inflation, doesn’t capture what’s happening in the economy.{mosads}
Powell responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s questioning by confirming that the economy can handle “much lower unemployment than we thought” without negatively affecting inflation.
“I’ve got to give her high marks for that,” Kudlow said on Fox News. “She got that out of the chairman. By the way, that’s been my position.”
Kudlow quipped that he’d like to sit down with the liberal firebrand to discuss supply-side economics, a model favored by many conservatives that argues tax cuts and deregulation spur economic growth.
“Nobody in life is all good or all bad, and I’ve got to give the hats off,” Kudlow said. “Ms. AOC kind of nailed that, and I’m hoping she and I can sit down and talk supply-side economics very soon.”
Powell hinted in his testimony on Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month as it faces economic red flags and mounting political pressure.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates, and asserted at various times that he could fire or demote the head of the central bank. While it’s legally questionable whether Trump has that authority, his consistent attacks have raised concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve.