President Donald Trump on Friday once again called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
Trump cited lower gasoline and grocery prices and strong employment numbers. His comments came after the Labor Department released April jobs data that showed the U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 177,000 jobs in the month.
“Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years, groceries (and eggs!) down, energy down, mortgage rates down, employment strong, and much more good news, as Billions of Dollars pour in from Tariffs. Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!! Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!! DJT”
TRUMP CALLS FOR FED’S POWELL TO CUT INTEREST RATES AND ‘STOP PLAYING POLITICS’
Trump notably refrained from his criticism of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who he most recently dubbed “Mr. Too Late.” In a Truth Social post last week, the president also called Powell a “major loser” and said the U.S. central bank should make “preemptive cuts” to interest rates — citing lower food costs and inflation.
“With these costs trending down so nicely, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,” he said.
FED’S POWELL STAYING PUT EVEN IF TRUMP HAS ANOTHER IDEA
Trump’s repeated criticisms of Powell — and White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett’s comments that the president would “study” whether he could legally fire the Fed chair — have raised concerns about the long-term independence of the Fed as it makes monetary policy decisions.
Powell has said that he intends to serve out the remainder of his term as chair of the Federal Reserve, which ends on May 15, 2026.
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said Sunday in an April 20 appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the independence of central banks and monetary policy is crucial.
“There’s virtually unanimity among economists that monetary independence from political interference, that the Fed or any Central Bank be able to do the job that it needs to, is really important,” Goolsbee said.
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