Trump 'not thrilled' with Fed but says chairman's job safe

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's job is safe, even though he was "not thrilled" with the central bank after it moved to lower interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday.

"It's safe, yeah, it's safe. I mean, sure, why not?" Trump told Fox News in the interview that aired on Thursday, when asked about the chairman's job. "I mean he's got a job, and you know, I'm disappointed in him."

On Wednesday, the Fed voted 7-3 to cut interest rates for the second time this year, lowering its benchmark overnight lending rate to a range of 1.75% to 2.00% even as it signaled a higher bar for further reductions.

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Trump, who has made the economy a cornerstone of his 2020 re-election campaign, has repeatedly blasted the Fed and Powell, who was his pick to lead the bank, for policies he says have held back U.S. growth. "I'm not thrilled with the Fed," Trump told Fox in the interview, taped during the president's trip to California on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bernadette Baum)