Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday he would not rule out a potential interest rate cut as soon as this month. The remarks come amid a public pressure campaign from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged Powell to slash interest rates.
When asked on Tuesday about a possible interest rate cut at the Fed’s meeting this month, Powell said, “I wouldn’t take any meeting off the table or put any on the table. It depends on how the data evolve.”
Speaking on a panel at the European Central Bank forum in Sinatra, Portugal, Powell deflected a question from the moderator about challenges posed by Trump’s barbed criticism.
“I’m very focused on just doing my job,” Powell said, drawing applause. The central bank remains “100% focused” on its dual mandate of controlling inflation and delivering maximum employment, Powell added.
The moderator then asked European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde whether she would do anything differently if she were in Powell’s position.
“I speak for myself but I speak for all my colleagues on this panel, who would do the exact same thing as Jay Powell,” Lagarde said. “The exact same thing.”
Since Trump took office he has criticized Powell on numerous occasions, despite a longstanding norm of political independence at the central bank. The Fed is an independent government agency established by Congress.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump said Powell and other central bankers “should be ashamed of themselves.”
“We should be paying 1% Interest, or better!” Trump said, calling for a sharp reduction in interest rates from a current level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.
The social media post included an image of an apparent hand-written letter to Powell, which bore Trump’s signature.
The Fed held its benchmark interest rate steady last month, continuing a wait-and-see approach adopted by the central bank in recent months as it observes potential effects of Trump’s tariff policy. Four meetings and six months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates.
The Fed last month forecasted two quarter-point interest-rate cuts over the remainder of 2025, carrying over a prediction issued in March.
On Tuesday, Powell affirmed that a majority of members of the Fed’s policy-making board support additional interest cuts this year. The central bank will hold four rate-setting meetings over the remainder of 2025 – and the first will happen on July 29 and 30.
“A majority of us do feel it will be appropriate in the remaining four settings of the year to begin reducing rates again,” Powell said.
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