President Trump lashed out at Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, on Thursday, saying “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
Mr. Trump’s ire followed remarks by Mr. Powell on Wednesday, in which he warned in a speech that tariffs could create a “challenging scenario” for the central bank by putting its two main goals — stable inflation and a healthy labor market — in tension.
Mr. Powell reiterated that the Fed could afford to be patient with its interest rate decisions until it had more clarity about Mr. Trump’s policies. The Fed chair’s emphasis on the need to ensure that a temporary rise in inflation from tariffs did not become a more persistent problem suggested that the bar for further rate cuts was high.
The president has been pushing for Mr. Powell to cut rates. On Thursday, he referenced expectations that the European Central Bank would lower borrowing costs, saying the Fed should do the same.
“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!’, ” Mr. Trump wrote. “Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
The Fed seeks to operate independent of political influence, something that Mr. Powell on Wednesday said was a “matter of the law.” Presidents have long sought to pressure central bank officials, but the fear across Wall Street and Washington is that Mr. Trump will seek to undermine the central bank’s independence in a more permanent way.