Jerome H. Powell, whose term does not expire until May, has argued that the central bank can afford to be patient about cutting interest rates amid uncertainty about the economic outlook.

President Donald Trump said he would choose a successor for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who wants to cut interest rates, a condition that would strike at the heart of the central bank’s independence.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would not appoint anyone to head the Federal Reserve who would not lower interest rates from where they are, setting perhaps the most explicit litmus test yet for candidates to be the next central bank chief to align with his demands for steep rate cuts in order to get the job.