Trump ramps up pressure on Fed Chair Powell to cut rates in handwritten note: You have cost the USA a fortune
President Trump on Monday lobbed another broadside at Fed Chair Jerome Powell in an invective-laced note scrawled on a list of central bank interest rates around the world — accusing him of costing “the USA a fortune.”“Jerome, you are, as usual, ‘too late.’ You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so.You should lower the rate, by a lot! Hundreds of billions of dollars being lost,” Trump wrote in his trademark large, all-capital style that included his signature.Trump also wrote “should be here” next to the column that ranked interest rates from lowest to highest by nation — and scribbled a bracket between Japan’s 0.5% and Denmark’s 1.75%, according to the missive brandished by press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a White House briefing.He also posted the image to his Truth Social account, with further commentary saying that being a central banker in the US was “one of the easiest, yet most prestigious jobs in America, and they have FAILED…We should be paying 1% interest, or better!”Trump said that Powell and the rest of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors should be “ashamed of themselves.”Policymakers have kept the Fed rate at between 4.25% and 4.5% since December as inflation remains above its 2% target.The inaction has infuriated Trump, who has walked back threats to fire Powell before his term expires in 2026.
Trump cannot fire Powell over a policy dispute, but last week urged him to resign.Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — who has been named as a possible successor to Powell — began mapping out the likely plan for naming the next Fed Chair.On Monday, he pointed to a more conventional handover of power at the Fed instead of attempts to influence monetary policy through early appointment of a “shadow chair” or other methods.Fed Governor Adriana Kugler’s term on the board expires on Jan.31, 2026, providing an option for Trump to name a governor for a full 14-year term who could later be prom...