Trump has eased his public pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, saying rate cuts depend only partly on the chair, while the White House moved to rebut concerns that its close contact with the central bank could threaten policy independence. In an Aug. 7 interview, Trump repeated his support for low rates, said he wanted to "go back to the old days" when strong economic data pushed market rates lower, and renewed criticism of former Chair Jerome Powell and current Governor Lisa Cook for what he cast as political bias. A day later, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Bloomberg that Trump respects the independence of the Federal Reserve, said the president and Warsh have a long-standing personal relationship, and expressed confidence that Trump would not pressure Warsh on rate decisions. The softer posture contrasts with Trump's past attacks on Powell and comes as earlier reporting said Warsh could still be prepared to raise rates at the September meeting if inflation stays hot and markets push up borrowing-cost expectations.