President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, after the central bank again voted to leave interest rates unchanged.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday morning.
“He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS,” Trump continued, before calling the ongoing renovations to the Fed’s D.C. headquarters “one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction!”
The Federal Reserve declined to comment on Trump’s post.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
Why It Matters
Trump’s tirade marks the latest chapter in an ongoing campaign of criticism and pressure against the Fed chief he nominated in 2017. Trump has repeatedly pressured Powell to significantly slash interest rates, dubbing him “too late Powell” as well as a “numbskull” and “Trump hater” for not doing so. These have fueled speculation that the president plans to remove Powell from his post before his term ends in May 2026.
Trump has said it is “unlikely” he will fire Powell, despite frustration over the Fed’s repeated decisions not to cut interest rates. However, the president has flirted with the possibility in recent weeks while calling on Powell to resign. This is in addition to suggesting that Powell could be ousted due to over-budget renovations at the Fed’s headquarters.
However, should political pressure force Powell out of his position before the expiry of his term in May, this could be seen as a major break from the central bank’s long-standing independence, while potentially eroding confidence in the stability of the U.S. economy.
What To Know
In a widely anticipated move, the Fed on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged, and maintained the benchmark rate within the target range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent.
In its decision, the central bank noted that unemployment and labor market conditions are encouraging, but that inflation “remains somewhat elevated.”
“In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the [Federal Open Market Committee] will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook,” the announcement read. “The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals.”
There were two dissenting voices, Michelle W. Bowman and Christopher J. Waller, who expressed preference for a 25-basis-point cut. This marked the first time in over three decades that two officials diverged from the majority in such a decision, according to The New York Times.
The pair are both Trump appointees to the Board of Governors, and have previously called for looser monetary policy, citing the lower-than-expected impacts of tariffs on inflation and underlying weaknesses in the labor market.
Ahead of the decision, Trump again accused Powell of holding back an otherwise-roaring economy.
“Each point that this gentleman keeps up costs us $365 billion a year,” Trump said. The president has previously argued that rates are “at least three points too high.”
Trump has called on the Fed to cut rates since the beginning of his second term, believing the lower borrowing costs will boost the U.S. economy while also reducing the interest the federal government pays on its debt. He has previously said that lowering interest rates by three percentage points would save the U.S. $1 trillion in annual debt payments.
“Now he’s got a meeting today, but I call him too late. You know, he’s always too late,” Trump added on Wednesday. “Even if he does it today, probably won’t. I hear they’re going to do it in September, not today. For what reason? Nobody knows.”
Trump took things a step further on Thursday morning, again calling Powell “too late” and saying that the country is “paying the price” for his monetary stance. The latest outburst is likely to reignite speculation that he hopes to remove the Fed chair.
“I don’t rule out anything, but it’s highly unlikely,” Trump said of firing Powell earlier this month, adding that he had spoken to Republican governors about the possibility and that “almost every one of them said I should.”
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump also said that Powell could be forced out “for fraud,” pointing to the recent $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. In a recent letter to Powell, Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), called these an “ostentatious overhaul,” and said that statements made by Powell during his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June raised “serious questions” about the project’s compliance with the federal guidelines.
The growing criticism of and pressure on Powell from Trump prompted the Fed chair on Wednesday to stress the need for the central bank to retain its political independence.
“I think that having an independent central bank has been an institutional arrangement that has served the public well,” Powell said in response to a reporter’s question. “And as long as it serves the public well, it should continue and be respected.”
“What [independence] gives us—and other central banks—what it gives you is the ability to make these very challenging decisions in ways that are focused on the data and the evolving outlook, the balance of risks, and all the things we talk about, and not political factors,” he added.
What People Are Saying
President Trump, via Truth Social on Thursday, said: “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair. He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS, in addition to one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction! Put another way, ‘Too Late’ is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, during Wednesday’s press conference, said: “Governments all over the advanced economy world have chosen to put a little bit of distance between direct political control of those decisions and the decision makers. So if you were not to have that, there would be a great temptation, of course, to use interest rates to affect elections, for example. And that’s something that we don’t want to do. So I think that’s pretty widely understood. Certainly it is in Congress. And I think it’s very important.”
Todd Belt, director of the Political Management program at George Washington University, previously told Newsweek: “Trump sees other central banks cutting rates and wonders why the Fed isn’t doing more for him politically. But the Fed’s mission is to manage inflation and employment for the long term, not to serve the president.”
“The real danger here is that it politicizes something that should never be political,” Belt said on the possibility of Powell being forced to resign. “We have rules that guarantee separation between what’s political and what’s for the public good. The Fed was designed to be independent so the president can’t manipulate monetary policy for short-term gain.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business last week: “I know Chair Powell. There’s nothing that tells me that he should step down right now. He’s been a good public servant. His term ends in May. If he wants to see that through, I think he should. If he wants to leave early, I think he should.”
Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Newsweek earlier this month: “Powell’s term expires mid-year next year. So he’s not going to be in for very long in any event,” he said. “And if Trump went to fire him, no doubt it would end up in court, and to get a decision like that, which undoubtedly would end up in the Supreme Court, to try to bring that to a decision in less than a year is very unlikely.”
What Happens Next
The Fed’s next interest rate decision will be in September. Powell was asked about the possibility of a rate cut at this meeting, but said the decision would remain contingent on the trajectory of inflation and labor market conditions.
Update 07/31/25 9:17 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from the Federal Reserve
