US President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying his departure from the central bank “cannot come fast enough” as he renewed calls for immediate interest rate cuts.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, said, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough.”
“Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now,” he further wrote.
Trump’s comments come a day after Powell said at an event at the Economic Club of Chicago that the Fed’s “independence is very widely understood and supported in Washington and in Congress, where it really matters.”
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On Wednesday, Powell warned that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on every trade partner could put the Federal Reserve in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment.
Donald Trump, however, has repeatedly urged Powell to cut interest rates, but the US central bank has adopted a wait-and-see attitude, holding interest rates steady.
The Fed’s benchmark interest rate is currently 4.25%-4.50%, where it has been since December following several rate cuts late last year.
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According to AFP, Trump has at times threatened to try to fire Powell, as he is attempting to do with members of other independent policy bodies in a move currently before the US Supreme Court.
Powell on Thursday said the Fed is watching the case carefully but does not think any decision will apply to the central bank, whose credibility in managing monetary policy is considered important not just to the US economy, but in global markets tuned to Fed decisions.
Powell was initially nominated by Trump in 2017, and he was appointed to another four-year term by President Joe Biden in 2022.
At a November news conference, Powell indicated he would not step down if Trump asked him to resign.
