Trump calls for the equivalent of 10 Fed rate cuts

President Donald Trump on Thursday continued his extraordinary and targeted verbal attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling for a massive 2.5-point reduction in interest rates.

President Donald Trump on Thursday continued his extraordinary and targeted verbal attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling for a massive 2.5-point reduction in interest rates. Despite appointing Powell to the role in 2017, Trump has frequently chastised the Fed chair for keeping rates higher than the president would like. On Wednesday, after a monetary policymaking meeting, the Fed said it would be maintaining rates between 4.25% and 4.5%, noting that the economy remains strong but the path of inflation is uncertain in part because of the enormous tariffs that Trump has placed on foreign goods. “‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell is costing our Country Hundreds of Billions of Dollars,” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday. “He is truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government, and the Fed Board is complicit.” “TOO LATE’s an American Disgrace!” Trump continued. An immediate cut of two and a half points would be unprecedented. The Fed generally adjusts its benchmark lending rate up or down by a quarter point, but the size of each rate adjustment is congruent with the economic reality at that moment. For example, when inflation was running at 40-year highs in 2022, the Fed was hiking by as much as three-quarters of a point at a time. Equally, when the economy was ailing during the onset of the pandemic, the Fed cut rates aggressively. Powell has refused to respond to Trump’s barbs, instead saying he is focused on the Fed’s mandate to keep inflation low and job growth high. When asked about Trump’s stated desire to nominate a new Fed chair next year when his term expires, Powell said he’s focused exclusively on the present.