FILE PHOTO: Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

(Reuters) -Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, speaking Friday after data showed further job-market weakening, said he is still undecided whether September is the right timing for an interest rate cut, while also defending the need to keep the U.S. central bank insulated from short-term political pressure.

In an interview on Bloomberg TV, Goolsbee said he is "totally opposed" to any move to take away the Fed's independence. Goolsbee, however, said he does not think that's what is being attempted and said he expects that any nominee to the central bank will do their job "seriously."

President Donald Trump's nominee for the Fed, Stephen Miran, said Thursday he would take an unpaid leave from the White House while he serves at the Fed through January, a move that Democrats said shows Miran would not be independent.

(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Leslie Adler)