Trump Secretly Warns Fed Chair Ahead of Rate Hike Decision

U.S. President Donald Trump surprised his closest advisers by making a secret phone call to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's successor, Kevin Warsh, before raising interest rates for the first time in three years.

Warsh and the rest of the 12-member policymaking board voted unanimously on Wednesday to increase rates, with Trump publicly downplaying the move and hinting that he had spoken to Warsh ahead of time.

'I talked to Kevin, and I said, 'You might as well vote with the board because it's not going to matter,'

Trump told reporters before a rally in North Carolina, suggesting that Warsh was bound by an overtly political Federal Open Market Committee.