Catenaa, Wednesday, June 18, 2025– US President Donald Trump has called for a huge reduction in US interest rates and asked whether he can “appoint myself” at the Federal Reserve, hours before the Fed announcement.
“We should be two [percentage] points lower; it would be nice to be two-and-a-half points lower,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday morning.
“Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I’d do a much better job than these people,” he added.
The latest salvo against the Fed and its Chief Jerome Powell, whom he called “stupid”, comes as policymakers were widely expected to hold interest rates steady at the end of their two-day meeting.
The President complained that borrowing costs are way too high and blamed Powell directly for the damage.
“So we have a stupid person. Frankly, you probably won’t cut today,” Trump said. “Europe had 10 cuts, and we had none. And I guess he’s a political guy, I don’t know. He’s a political guy who’s not a smart person, but he’s costing the country a fortune.”
The Fed’s current target is between 4.25% and 4.50%, and there was no market expectation of any cut this time. Traders see the next move happening in September.
The Fed cut rates by one percentage point last year, but has held them steady in 2025 as they assess how Trump’s tariffs will affect inflation and growth.
