Hassett Says Fed Rate Decisions Tainted by Partisan Politics (1)

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett accused the Federal Reserve of injecting politics into its interest-rate decisions.

“If you look at the pattern of the Fed movements over the last few years, you could wonder, were they putting politics ahead of their mandate?” Hassett said Wednesday in an interview on Fox Business.

Hassett pointed to the Fed’s decision to cut rates before last November’s presidential election, and decisions this year to hold rates steady as evidence of partisanship.

Kevin Hassett

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

The central bank lowered rates by a half-point in September, and by a quarter-point twice more after the election, when the ...