Trump Criticizes Fed Chair Jerome Powell Once More

President Trump once again voiced his disapproval of Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, during a speaking engagement on Wednesday.

In a White House address, Trump noted a slight drop in mortgage rates and commented on his dissatisfaction with Powell by saying, 'I have someone at the Fed I'm not too fond of. These are trivial matters though. Let's hope he doesn't hear that,' Trump joked.

Addressing business executives, Trump conveyed gratitude for their domestic investments. He then reiterated his ongoing criticisms, focusing on Powell's reluctance to lower interest rates: 'Interest rates need to be decreased. I believe I have a better grasp of interest rates than he does because I've had direct experience dealing with them.'

Trump appointed Powell to the Federal Reserve's top position in 2017 during his first presidential term. Initially, Trump praised Powell, calling him a 'wise guardian' of the Fed but later became critical and consistently urged him to reduce interest rates.

In April 2019, Trump expressed on Twitter, then known as X, that Powell's inaction on interest rate cuts was holding back the U.S. stock market.

More recently, on April 17, Trump took to Truth Social to state that Powell's removal couldn't occur soon enough after Powell warned that Trump's broad tariffs might lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth.

Trump criticized Powell as 'consistently late and wrong' in a report issued by him, as the European Central Bank (ECB) prepared for its seventh rate cut. He found the report to be just another typical 'mess.'

While Trump often talks about having the power to remove Powell before his term is up in May 2026, it's not clear if this is legally feasible since Federal Reserve officials can only be dismissed 'for cause,' such as misconduct, and not due to policy disagreements.

In conversations with journalists shortly after Trump's electoral victory, Powell asserted that the President isn't legally allowed to dismiss him from his position, and he emphasized that he would not step down even if Trump requested it.

Neither the Federal Reserve nor the White House was willing to comment on the matter when questioned on Wednesday.