President Donald Trump spoke about the installation in Washington on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Evan Vucci | AP
In the Federal Reserve, hours after its latest decision on interest rates, President Donald Trump denounced Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday, calling him “silly” while he doubted the central bank would cut.
In the latest in a string of attacks on Powell, dating back several years, Trump said the Fed’s main borrowing rate should be at least 2 percentage points lower.
“So we have a stupid person. Frankly, you probably won’t cut off today,” Trump said in an improvisational statement just outside the White House. “There were 10 cuts in Europe and we had nothing. I think he’s a politician. I don’t know. He’s a politician who’s not a clever person, but he’s sacrificing a lot of money to the country.”
The statement came almost four hours ago, along with the Federal Open Market Committee’s release a statement on interest rates and an update on where policies and some key economic indicators will be seen over the next few years.
Market prices indicate that there is no chance of a cut at the meeting, and the next move is expected in September. The Fed currently covers overnight borrowing rates ranging from 4.25% to 4.5%.
Powell expressed hesitation to his colleagues about adjusting fees with so many unanswered questions about the economy.
For one thing, the long-term impact of Trump’s tariffs is unknown. Although inflation indicators have largely changed since the tariffs were implemented in April, various factors have been conspired to reduce the impact from their duties.
But Trump said higher fees cost “never millions” of funding costs that could be saved by the Fed.
“If he’s worried about inflation, it’s fine. I understand that. I think there’s something. So far, it’s not,” Trump said.
“But now we refuse to lower the Fed rate, just refuse, he’s not a smart person,” the president added. “I don’t think he’s political. I think he hates me, but that’s fine.”
Trump and Powell met at the White House recently, but little has been revealed about what was discussed. Powell and his colleagues vowed that they would not be influenced by political pressure.
This is fast news. Please update for updates.
