WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would have passed on Kevin Warsh as his nominee to lead the Federal Reserve if Warsh had expressed a desire to hike interest rates.

“If he came in and said, ‘I want to raise it,’ he would not have gotten the job, no,” Trump said Wednesday in an NBC News interview.

The president said there was “not much” doubt the Fed would lower rates because “we’re way high in interest” but now “we’re a rich country again.”

Asked if Warsh understands Trump wants him to lower the benchmark rate, the president responded, “I think he does, but I think he wants to anyway.”

Trump’s comments could come up during Warsh’s confirmation process, where the Fed’s independence will likely be a central topic. Trump said he believed “in theory” that the central bank was an independent body, while saying he was a “smart guy” whose economic predictions should be considered.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a member of the Banking Committee, has pledged to block any of Trump’s nominees to the institution until the Justice Department ends an investigation into the central bank’s renovation.

Outgoing Chair Jerome Powell has called the probe a thinly veiled attack on the Fed’s ability to independently decide monetary policy. Trump administration officials have denied that’s the intent, but the president has waged a months-long pressure campaign on Powell to lower rates.

Trump dismissed that threat on Wednesday, saying “a lot of people say a lot of things” and reiterating his criticism over the construction project.

“This guy has spent so much money,” Trump said.

Warsh, a former Fed governor, developed a reputation as an inflation hawk but has recently voiced support for lower rates.

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