Donald Trump Urges Jerome Powell to Cut Rates During Fed Visit

U.S. President Donald Trump has again called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. This time, the president made this call during his visit to the U.S. Central Bank, where he met with Chair Jerome Powell.

Donald Trump Pushes For Lower Rates Again

During his visit to the Federal Reserve, the president stated that he would like the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, and the FOMC to lower interest rates. He made this comment while inspecting the renovation project at the U.S. Central Bank.

Donald Trump alluded to the fact that the European Union (EU) has already made several interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, the Fed has yet to make any rate cut this year, despite making three last year in quick succession.

He believes that the U.S. should have the lowest interest rate among all countries. The president noted that Switzerland has the lowest interest rates, which stand at 0.50%.

Donald Trump declared that the U.S. interest rate should also be around this level, which is why he again called for a 300-basis-point rate cut. He also noted that the economy is booming, with inflation down and the labor market solid. As such, the president believes that a rate cut could be the “rocket fuel” that propels the economy to new heights.

The president’s visit to the Federal Reserve comes at a time when Jerome Powell is facing pressure over the renovation project. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna recently criminally referred the Fed Chair to the DOJ for perjury regarding the renovation costs.

This has led to talks that the Fed Chair may have to resign or that Donald Trump could fire him on the grounds of fraud. As such, this visit may again be one of the ways that the president is using to get him to lower rates or at least resign from his position. There were reports earlier in the week that Powell had resigned, although this was later found to be false.

No Plans To Fire Powell

Donald Trump again confirmed that he has no plans to fire Powell, although he, the Fed Chair, has been “too late” in making a rate cut. The president also admitted that firing Powell would be a “big move,” one that could ultimately put the Fed’s independence at risk.

He also confirmed that he spoke with the Fed Chair and is confident that he would do the right thing. He said that there is no pressure on Powell but that everybody knows what the right thing is. The president added that even those who believed in higher rates now want to see the interest rates come down.

It is worth noting that Fed President Mary Daly recently admitted that the Donald Trump tariffs have not had as much negative impact on inflation as initially anticipated. In line with this, she agreed that two rate cuts this year are a reasonable outlook.

In the meantime, the Fed is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at the July FOMC meeting. CME FedWatch data shows that there is a 97.4% chance that rates will remain at the current benchmark of between 4.25% and 4.5%.