Trump has been on a collision course with the Fed since long before he took office. During his campaign, the president criticized the system's Federal Open Market Committee, which sets monetary policy and interest rate targets. He even went so far as to accuse the Fed of keeping interest rates low in the runup to the elections to help his opponent, Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, an allegation Yellen quickly denied. Clashing Views Now that Trump is in office, he likely hopes to bring the Fed's policies more in line with his own, lest they undermine his objectives. The president has pledged to draw investment to the U.S. manufacturing industry , reduce the country's import consumption and boost its exports. But the Fed's current policy trajectory threatens to derail these initiatives.