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President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday after the central bank held interest rates steady.
“We should have a substantially lower rate now that even this moron admits inflation is no longer a problem or threat,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post one day after the Fed’s rate cut meeting.
“He is costing America Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year in totally unnecessary and uncalled for INTEREST EXPENSE. Because of the vast amounts of money flowing into our Country because of Tariffs, we should be paying the LOWEST INTEREST RATE OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD,” Trump wrote, adding that Powell was harming U.S. national security.
FED HOLDS INTEREST RATES STEADY, PAUSING RATE CUTS AMID ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY
Trump, who nominated Powell in 2017, has grown increasingly vocal in his criticism, repeatedly urging the central bank to cut rates as a way to stimulate the economy.
Throughout the year, the president has intensified his pressure campaign, publicly chastising Powell and resorting to personal insults to express his frustration with the Fed’s decisions.
TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY
But what began as tension over interest rate policy has now spiraled into a full-blown confrontation, marking the most challenging moment of Powell’s eight years at the helm of the central bank.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Powell over his congressional testimony regarding the Federal Reserve’s ongoing renovation of its two buildings in Washington.
Powell confirmed the investigation on Jan. 11 in a video statement, calling it “unprecedented” and another example of what he described as Trump’s ongoing threats lobbed at the Federal Reserve.
FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION
His decision to respond publicly, after days of private consultation with advisors, marked a sharp departure from the central banker’s typically measured approach.
Powell told reporters on Wednesday – the first time he has appeared before the press since the probe was launched – that he would not react to statements from the administration nor would he discuss the investigation.
The tensions between Trump and the Federal Reserve come as the Supreme Court weighs the president’s authority to remove sitting Fed board Governor Lisa Cook and as the White House teases a successor to Powell.
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