Amid rising tensions between the Trump White House and the Federal Reserve Board, President Donald Trump’s top budget official has begun pointedly questioning the honesty of Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In an exclusive interview with Newsmax, Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, twice declined to vouch for Powell’s character, in addition to questioning his competence.

Asked point blank if he and Trump regard the chair as “an honest man,” Vought replied: “I think that’s a question that needs to be borne out by the review of the facts and what we find… We heard what he said in committee. We’ve seen his response to our letter. We’re not there yet in terms of his response being the end of the query.”

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