"We think the Fed will be very careful in managing the economy," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Mnuchin: Trump 'absolutely respects' Fed's independence

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted on Sunday that President Donald Trump and his administration "absolutely support" the Federal Reserve's independence.

“We as an administration absolutely support the independence of the Fed, and the president’s made it clear that this is the Fed’s decision," Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.”


Responding to recent comments by the president questioning the Fed's raising of interest rates, Mnuchin said, "These are really more just comments saying, as interest rates are going up, it’s something that the president has a concern."

"But let me be clear," Mnuchin added, "he absolutely respects the independence of the Fed.”

Amid signals that the central bank will raise interest rates further this year, Trump said in a July 19 interview with CNBC: “I don't like all of this work that we're putting into the economy, and then I see rates going up."

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Vice President Mike Pence echoed the president's comments in an interview on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures," saying, "We don't want policies out of Capitol Hill or elsewhere that diminish the tremendous energy that we have in this economy today."

Pressed further Sunday by Fox host Chris Wallace, Mnuchin said, "We think the Fed will be very careful in managing the economy."

The Fed raised interest rates for the second time this year in June and has indicated it may hike rates twice more before year's end.