Trump calls on Fed board to assume control if Powell refuses to lower interest rates again – Washington Examiner
Former President Donald Trump publicly criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for his refusal to lower interest rates, urging the Federal Reserve’s board of governors to take control if Powell continues to resist. After previously showing some signs of friendliness, Trump renewed his verbal attacks following the Fed’s decision to keep rates steady at 4.25% to 4.50%. Trump described Powell as “too late,” “too angry,” “too stupid,” and “too political,” blaming him for harming the U.S. economy. He also hinted at increasing dissent within the Fed’s board, even though the board collectively decided to maintain the current rate. Experts note that the Fed chair cannot unilaterally set rates, as decisions are made by the Federal open Market Committee, which includes multiple governors. Despite Trump’s frustration and calls to lower rates, Powell has consistently held rates steady this year, arguing that the economy is doing well.
Trump calls on Fed board to assume control if Powell refuses to lower interest rates again
President Donald Trump called on the board of the Federal Reserve to take control from Chairman Jerome Powell if interest rates aren’t lowered.
After a brief display of public friendliness, Trump resumed his rhetorical offensive against Powell on Wednesday after he announced that he wouldn’t be lowering interest rates. On Friday morning, Trump suggested a new mechanism to get around Powell for the first time, urging the Fed’s board of directors to assume control of the organization.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW. IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!” the president said in a post on Truth Social.
He followed this up with a warning, hinting at internal dissent within the Fed.
“STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD. IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER! ‘TOO LATE!’” Trump said.
“Too Little, Too Late. Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell is a disaster,” he added later. “DROP THE RATE! The good news is that Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!”
The decision to lower, raise, or keep interest rates unchanged is made by a majority vote from a 12-person board called the Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC, which includes the seven-member Fed Board of Governors, decides collectively what the course of interest rate policy should be.
“It’s important to point out that a Fed chair is not a dictator — the Fed chair may or may not be able to deliver the committee on lower rates if that is something that nominee believes needs to happen,” Dennis Lockhart, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, told the Washington Examiner.
The dissent of two Fed Board of Governors, both Trump appointees, is insufficient to change monetary policy. Nevertheless, their dissent was noteworthy as constituting the first double dissent from the body since 1993.
Wednesday’s decision to keep rates steady wasn’t made unilaterally by Powell, but instead by all board members. Trump’s call for the board to “assume control” is already true, as the board already has control. Unfortunately for the president, they exercised their control to keep interest rates steady.
Trump’s resumption of personal attacks against Powell appeared to stem from a feeling of personal betrayal over his continued refusal to lower interest rates. Last week, he voiced confidence that Powell would finally lower interest rates, as he demanded previously.
Powell “said to me very strongly, ‘The country is doing well.’ He said, ‘Congratulations, the country is doing really well,’” Trump told reporters at the White House last Friday. “And I got that to mean that I think he’s going to start recommending lower rates.”
Instead, Powell bucked pressure from the White House for the fifth time this year, previously declining to lower rates in January, March, May, and June. The Fed chairman kept interest rates steady on Wednesday at 4.25% to 4.50%, despite Trump’s insistence that doing so would harm the economy. The president’s reaction wasn’t long in coming.
TRUMP UNLOADS ON POWELL AFTER FED DECISION TO KEEP INTEREST RATES STEADY: ‘TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID’
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!!” the president said in a Wednesday Truth Social post. “He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. … Put another way, ‘Too Late’ is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!”
Trump tacked the decision down to Powell being “TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL.”
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