President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell for keeping interest rates high, while adding that rates will decline significantly under the next Chair.

Rates Will Come Down ‘A Lot’

During a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump slammed Powell yet again for being too slow and indecisive when it comes to acting on monetary policies. “We call him too late. He's too late,” Trump said.

Trump said that the Fed chair was deliberately keeping borrowing costs elevated, saying Powell “wants to keep rates as high as possible,” while adding that despite this, his administration was able to bring “rates down.”

With Powell set to step down as Fed chair in May, Trump said the country would have a “great Fed chairman,” and that the announcement would come “pretty soon.” He also added that federal interest rates will “come down a lot” under his new pick.

Trump’s comments come ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday, where interest rates are expected to remain unchanged, with a 97.2% probability of the same, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Trump Has Made His Choice On Next Fed Chair

While concerns continue to mount regarding the independence of the Federal Reserve, Trump said last week that he has made his choice for the next Fed Chair.

Based on Kalshi prediction markets, BlackRock Inc.’s (NYSE:BLK) Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, is now the frontrunner, with a 51% chance of getting the top role.

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh is now second, at a distant 27%, while Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, is at 7%.

The iShares US Treasury Bond ETF (BATS: GOVT), which tracks U.S. Treasuries, was down 0.11% on Wednesday, closing at $23.04. The fund has an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms, according to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.

Photo Courtesy: MeshCube on Shutterstock.com