CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said on Tuesday it is not good policy for a president or president-elect to second guess the Federal Reserve, although he said the central bank’s traditional tools for fighting recession were “running out”.

“I don’t think its good policy for the president or president-elect to second guess the Fed,” Obama told a news conference in Chicago where he announced his nominee for education secretary.

“We are running out of the traditional ammunition that is used in a recession, which is to lower interest rates. They are getting to be about as low as they can get ... it is critical that the other branches of government step up and that’s why the economic recovery plan is so absolutely crucial.”

In a decision expected at 2:15 p.m. EDT (1915 GMT), the Fed is likely to cut U.S. interest rates by at least 50 basis points to 0.5 percent.