President Trump turned up the pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again on Thursday, saying that he should lower interest rates and that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough!”
The president’s comments about the central bank boss in a Truth Social post and an Oval Office press conference came one day after Powell said the central bank will “wait for greater clarity” before considering any rate adjustments as he warned Trump’s tariffs would likely generate “higher inflation and slower growth.”
On Thursday at the White House, Trump told reporters, “If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” and reiterated that he was “not happy” with Powell. “I don’t think he’s doing the job. He’s too late. Always too late,” Trump said. The president doubled down on these sentiments on social media, saying Powell “should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago,” referencing recent monetary policy easing on the part of the European Central Bank.
“He should certainly lower them now,” he continued.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Trump has for months privately discussed firing Powell, but he hasn’t made a final decision about whether to try to oust him before his term ends in May 2026.
Trump talked to former Fed governor Kevin Warsh about replacing Powell, according to the Journal, but Warsh recommended the president wait until Powell’s term was up. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also advised against early removal.
Trump certainly made Powell’s job more difficult this month as he unveiled the steepest tariffs in more than 100 years before pausing some of them for 90 days.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
The tariffs roiled markets and stoked new uncertainties about the direction of the US economy, putting pressure on the Fed to consider a rate cut as a way of preventing a downturn.
Powell has said he intends to serve out the entirety of his term. Bessent said earlier this week he expects to start interviewing Fed chair candidates in the fall of this year.
The Fed chair on Wednesday also reiterated the independence of his institution and his own job, saying it’s “a matter of law,” and pledged not to act in response to any political pressure.
He did discuss a case now before the Supreme Court that is testing Trump’s ability to remove board members at other independent agencies in Washington, D.C., a case that some Fed watchers worry could threaten Powell if the administration wins.
