Trump, mentioning Fed chair pick, says interest rates should come down substantially

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, citing his pick to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, said he expected interest rates to come down substantially.

“We have a very incompetent Fed chairman who likes high interest rates – for political reasons he likes them – but we’re going to have somebody very good, interest rates should down very substantially,” he told a briefing.

Trump last month announced plans to nominate Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell when his term as chair ends in May.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery, writing by Andrea ShalalEditing by David Ljunggren)