Fed's Powell tells Princeton grads to guard integrity amid Trump criticism

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Princeton graduates to "guard" their integrity amid a flurry of criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Powell addressed Princeton's Class of 2025 on May 25 and shared a series of advice including the biggest career mistakes graduates can make and, toward the end of his speech, he encouraged graduates to maintain their honor and respect.

"I have one last key point. Your life matters, not just to you but to the people who love you," Powell said in the speech. "50 years from now, you want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right in every part of your life. At the end of the day, our integrity is all we have. Guard it carefully."

Powell has come under intense pressure from Trump in recent months to lower interest rates, even calling the central bank leader a "major loser" in April for not bowing to his demands. The president also threatened to fire Powell, before walking back the remarks.

Trump hopes that lowering interest rates will boost economic growth. However, Powell has insisted on taking a wait-and-see approach due to the potential side effects of Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" and has held interest rates steady to balance the Fed's mandate to provide maximum employment and stable prices.

Trump's demands to lower interest rates has no effect "at all" on the Federal Open Market Committee's job or the way they do it, Powell said in May.

"We are always going to do the same thing, which is we are going to use our tools to foster maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of the American people," he said. "We are always going to consider only the economic data, the outlook, the balance of risks and that's it. That's all we are going to consider."

In his speech to Princeton graduates, Powell emphasized the importance of public service and shared an example regarding the coronavirus pandemic when he said there was a risk of "a long, severe global depression."

"Everyone turned to the government and to the Federal Reserve in particular as a key first responder. Career civil servants at the Fed who were veterans of previous crises stepped forward and said: 'We got this.' We took a range of aggressive measures to supply credit to the economy, many of them unprecedented, while the financial sector recovered," he said.

It was their "collective efforts" that saved the economy, Powell said, adding that they deserve respect and gratitude.

"I urge you to take on the challenge and the opportunity to serve your fellow citizens. You will never regret that choice," he said.