Trump administration

President Donald Trump urged the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates to a level typically reserved for recessions or periods of persistently weak growth, suggesting that such a setting could allow the government to restructure Treasury debt at a lower cost.

The Treasury secretary said he hopes lawmakers will back reforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac within three to six months.

With its proposal to restrict disparate-impact claims, the Trump administration seems determined to solve a problem that does not exist.

The Treasury Department made clear in a much-anticipated report that it prefers Congress take up reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, but it also recommended steps that federal agencies could take without legislation.

Politics not considered, a spokesman said in response to Dudley’s call for the Fed to stop enabling trade war; the agency lifts a two-year hiring freeze.