President Trump targeted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ahead of his testimony to Congress on Tuesday, bashing him once again for not lowering interest rates.
“‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell, of the Fed, will be in Congress today in order to explain, among other things, why he is refusing to lower the Rate. Europe has had 10 cuts, we have had ZERO,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “No inflation, great economy — We should be at least two to three points lower. Would save the USA 800 Billion Dollars Per Year, plus. What a difference this would make.”
The president, in his early morning rant, also called Powell “dumb” and “hardheaded.”
He continued, “If things later change to the negative, increase the Rate. I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person, over. We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come. THE BOARD SHOULD ACTIVATE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Powell is set to give his semiannual testimony to Congress before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.
The president has consistently ripped Powell, going after him for the central bank’s decision to keep rates steady. Trump last week suggested appointing himself to head the Federal Reserve, saying, “I’d do a much better job than these people.”
With less than a year left in the Fed chair’s term, the president has repeatedly threatened Powell’s job, criticized his handling of the economy and accused him of rigging interest rates to support Democrats.
The Federal Reserve has held off cutting interest rates through the first half of 2025 amid the uncertainty driven by Trump’s tariff plans and aggressive trade policy.
Powell reiterated his call for patience last week, after the Fed kept rates steady once again.
“What we’re waiting for, to reduce rates, is to understand what will happen with the tariff inflation. There’s a lot of uncertainty about that,” he said.
“Someone has to pay the tariffs … between the manufacturer, the exporter, the importer, the retailer, ultimately somebody putting it into a good of some kind — or just the consumer buying it,” the Fed chair added.
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