Trump urges Fed board to 'assume control' if rates not cut

Hadriana Lowenkron, Magan Crane, Bloomberg News on Aug 1, 2025

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President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve board to “assume control” if Chair Jerome Powell does not lower interest rates, escalating his ongoing feud with the central bank’s head.

“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 wrote on social media Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s remarks.

Trump’s post came after Fed officials left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. In his post-meeting press conference, Powell didn’t offer any clear sign that policymakers were likely to cut at their next meeting, in September. Investors now anticipate just one cut by year’s end.

Rate decisions are made by the Federal Open Market Committee, which Powell chairs. Its voters include the seven members of the Fed Board of Governors in Washington, and five presidents of the Fed’s regional reserve banks. The FOMC elects its leader and a vice chair once a year.

Following Wednesday’s decision, Trump resumed his sharp criticism of Powell after a short-lived detente, hammering the central bank chief over rate-setting policies and a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters that critics have accused the chair of mismanaging. Trump has asked lawmakers about whether he should fire Powell, then told reporters he had no intention of doing so, suggesting he was willing to wait until the bank chief’s term as chair ends in May.

Two Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, voted against Wednesday’s decision, the first time two members of the board have dissented since 1993.

Trump cited those votes in a subsequent social media post, writing: “STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD. IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER!”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday he expected Trump to be able to announce Powell’s replacement by the end of the year.

“We are putting together a very good list of candidates,” he told CNBC. “I would expect that we could have an announcement by the end of the year.”

Bessent also pointed to dissenting voices in Wednesday’s decision and to two potential openings on the Fed board early next year, suggesting that it could soon have a “majority” of advocates in favor of rate cuts. Governor Adriana Kugler’s position opens in January, and Powell’s slot on the board would be the second, if he decides to leave the central bank altogether when his term as chair is up.

Powell has leaned into the view that the Fed is well-positioned for now, given lingering uncertainties surrounding the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs. His message on Wednesday was carefully balanced, tempering expectations for a September rate cut, but not closing the door to one.