Despite Trump's warning, Federal Reserve raises interest rates

The Federal Reserve has decided to raise interest rates again.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said that it had decided to raise interest rates by .25 to a range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent. It reported that "overall inflation for items other than food and energy remain near 2 percent." The Federal Reserve also projected that economic growth would slow down in 2019, resulting in less of a need for hiked interest rates next year.

The Federal Reserve periodically raises interest rates during periods of economic growth to prevent inflation from getting out of control. The rates were also hiked in March, June, and September.

On Tuesday, Trump had warned the Federal Reserve against hiking interest rates, calling it "incredible" that with "virtually no inflation" the Fed was "even considering yet another interest rate hike." He also tweeted that the Fed should avoid making "yet another mistake" and shouldn't "just go by meaningless numbers.

I hope the people over at the Fed will read today's Wall Street Journal Editorial before they make yet another mistake. Also, don't let the market become any more illiquid than it already is. Stop with the 50 B's. Feel the market, don't just go by meaningless numbers. Good luck!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2018

Even though Jerome Powell, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve, is a Trump appointee, the Fed strives to maintain its political independence.

While other presidents in modern history have generally avoided the appearance of weighing in on the Fed's decisions, Trump defended his criticism.

"Now, I'm just saying the same thing that I would have said as a private citizen," he told CNBC in July. "So somebody would say, 'Oh, maybe you shouldn't say that as a president.' I couldn't care less what they say, because my views haven't changed."

This article has been updated to reflect the correct amount that the interest rate was raised.