President Donald Trump slams Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over interest rates.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said consumer prices are lower and that the Federal Reserve should lower interest rates.
“Consumer Prices LOW. Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The president said in a separate post that the central bank should lower rates by three points.
“Fed should cut Rates by 3 Points. Very Low Inflation. One Trillion Dollars a year would be saved!!!” he wrote.
Trump’s posts came the same morning that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest inflation data, with its consumer price index (CPI) showing prices increased in June from the prior month.
INFLATION ACCELERATED IN JUNE AS THE FED WEIGHS THE IMPACT OF TARIFFS IN RATE CUT TIMING
Headline CPI rose to 2.7% on an annual basis, slightly higher than the expectations of economists polled by LSEG. Core CPI – which excludes volatile measurements of food and gasoline – increased to 2.9% from a year ago, slightly cooler than expected.
The rise in inflation, as well as the price pressures expected to arrive in the next few months as more goods exposed to tariffs reach consumers, have complicated the outlook for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. Powell said recently that the Fed would likely have already cut interest rates this year but for the impact of tariffs pushing inflation expectations higher.
TRUMP CALLS FED CHAIR A ‘KNUCKLEHEAD,’ SAYS INTEREST RATES SHOULD BE BELOW 1%
The June CPI report lowered the market’s expectations for a rate cut later this month, as the probability of rates remaining at the current range of 4.25% to 4.5% rose from 93.8% yesterday to 97.4% today, per the CME FedWatch tool. The probability of a September rate cut also decreased, with the likelihood of rates staying at their current level increasing from 37.4% to 42.2% over the last day.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed’s handling of monetary policy, urging Powell and the central bank to lower interest rates to spur economic growth as well as potentially lower the cost of servicing the more than $36 trillion national debt – which has risen rapidly in recent years due to higher interest rates.
POWELL ASKS FOR IG REVIEW AFTER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FLAGS FED’S COSTLY BUILDING RENOVATION
The president has threatened to fire Powell, though he lacks the legal authority to do so except in the case of a termination for cause. Trump’s allies have recently focused on cost overruns in the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s facilities in the nation’s capital as a way to potentially attempt to remove him for cause.
The project’s estimated cost rose from $1.9 billion in 2019 to more than $2.5 billion amid higher material costs as well as unexpected headwinds, such as having to remove more asbestos and address more contamination from toxic substances than expected in the early estimates.
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Powell requested that the Fed’s inspector general review the renovation project, while the Fed released a document noting that the central bank’s board and the IG have carried out oversight of the project in the years since its inception.
