President Donald Trump has dramatically ramped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell amid the president’s ongoing demands that the U.S. central bank slash interest rates.
In a late-night Truth Social post, Trump shared a website link claiming that both the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) are calling for Powell to step down if he doesn’t lower short-term rates.
“Too late—Powell is the WORST. A real dummy who’s costing America $Billions,” Trump wrote.
In a follow-up post on Thursday morning, Trump said that Powell is “truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government, and the Fed Board is complicit. Europe has had 10 cuts, we have had none.”
“We should be 2.5 Points lower, and save $BILLIONS on all of Biden’s Short Term Debt,” Trump added. “We have LOW inflation! TOO LATE’s an American Disgrace!”
Although Trump appointed Powell as Fed Chair in 2017, he’s subsequently spent years criticizing him, mainly over interest rates and what Trump sees as Powell’s political bias.
The latest fallout centers on the Fed’s refusal to cut interest rates, which Trump sees as vital to offsetting potential economic fallout from his sweeping tariff proposals.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent Wednesday amid ongoing uncertainty the effects Trump’s tariffs will have on inflation. This marks the fourth consecutive time the central bank has held rates steady.
Trump predicted the bank would not heed his demands to cut interest rates, drawing renewed anger from the president towards Powell, as well as the suggestion that he could do the job himself.
“We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “I call him ‘Too Late’ Powell, because he’s always too late.”
Trump has consistently accused Powell of mismanaging interest rate policy, first for being too slow to raise rates amid decades-high levels of inflation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now for being too slow to cut them after Trump re-entered office.
“Maybe I should go to the Fed,” Trump said. “Am I allowed to appoint myself? I’d do a much better job than these people.”
While Trump has previously threatened to fire Powell, the Supreme Court ruled the president does not have the authority to do so, as the Fed is independent from the executive branch. Trump has since walked back those threats, saying he has “no intention” of removing Powell, whose term ends in May 2026.
Now, Trump isn’t alone in his criticism. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno joined in the attacks on Powell following the Fed’s latest decision.
“The Fed appears to be giving credence to economists’ latest anti-tariff argument,” Moreno wrote to Powell in a letter obtained by Axios. “After raising inflation expectations with fearmongering, the Fed uses this as justification for not cutting rates. This circular logic is intellectually dishonest.”
The Federal Reserve declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Beast.
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