President Donald Trump took aim at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, expressing his feelings during a speech at the White House.
“Mortgage rates are actually down slightly, even though I have a guy in the Fed that I’m not a huge fan of. But that’s all right, these are minor details. Don’t tell him I said that, please,” Trump remarked.
Speaking to business leaders, he expressed gratitude for their investments in U.S. manufacturing. Trump reiterated his ongoing criticisms of Powell, particularly focusing on Powell’s reluctance to lower interest rates. “He should reduce the interest rates. I think I understand interest a lot better than him because I’ve had to really use interest rates. We should have interest rates go down,” he stated.
Trump nominated Powell as Fed Chair in 2017 during his first term. Initially praising him as a “wise steward of the Federal Reserve,” Trump’s opinion quickly soured as he has since persistently urged Powell to cut interest rates.
In April 2019, Trump accused Powell of hindering the U.S. stock market by not reducing interest rates. More recently, he criticized Powell on April 17, suggesting that his termination “cannot come fast enough” after Powell warned that Trump’s tariffs could lead to increased inflation and slower economic growth.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!'”
Despite his criticisms, Trump later claimed he had “no intention” of firing Powell but has stated multiple times that he believes he has the authority to remove Powell before his term ends in May 2026. It’s unclear if this is legally possible, as the law stipulates that a president can only dismiss a Fed official for cause, like misconduct, not policy disagreements.
After Trump’s presidential election win, Powell emphasized that he could not be removed by Trump due to legal protections, and he stated he would not resign if asked.
A representative for the Federal Reserve declined to comment on Trump’s recent statements, while the White House did not respond to requests for comment.