President Donald Trump issued his sharpest critique yet against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while confirming that he’s begun interviewing candidates for the top central bank role.
Trump Wants Powell Out ‘Right Now’
Speaking with the media from the Oval Office on Tuesday, alongside Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Trump said that he already had one preferred candidate for the job, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has “refused” it.
Trump then criticized Powell, saying that he wanted him removed immediately. “I'd love to get the guy currently in there out right now, but people are holding me back,” he said.
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He accused Powell of damaging the housing market and mishandling interest rate policy. “He's done a terrible job,” Trump said, while adding that his administration's economic momentum has nonetheless blown past Powell’s “interest rate stupidity.”
Trump attacked Powell's timing on rate decisions, adding, “He's been wrong. That's why I call him ‘too late.’ He's too late. Jerome too late Powell.” He also called Powell “a fool” and “a stupid man,” despite appointing him to the top central bank role himself during his first term in 2018.
Trump Will ‘Take Over The Fed’
Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not cutting interest rates soon enough, while calling for benchmark rates to drop to “1% or 2%,” from their current 3.75% to 4.00%.
Recently, Trump posted a cartoon of him firing Powell, using his famous “You’re Fired” catchphrase in a Truth Social post, despite the Fed having cut interest rates earlier that same month.
With Powell’s term set to end in May 2026, Economist Larry Kudlow, who served as the Director of the National Economic Council from 2018 to 2021, has predicted that Trump is “going to take the Fed over, as he should.”
Kudlow defended the move, highlighting the need for a complete overhaul at the Federal Reserve, across its monetary, regulatory, and even staffing policies. He said that the only way to do this was to bring in an outsider who could shake things up for the better.
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