Trump blasts Powell after Fed votes to keep interest rates steady

President Trump blasted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, lodging insults at the head of the central bank for opting again to not lower interest rates.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS, in addition to one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction! Put another way, ‘Too Late’ is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!” the president added.

The nation’s central bank on Wednesday kept short-term interest rates at a level of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent. The vote included the first double dissent from Fed board officials in more than 30 years when Vice Chair of Supervision Michelle Bowman and board Gov. Christopher Waller — who are both in the running for Trump’s nomination to replace Powell when his term is up in May — voted to lower them.

Trump’s insults Thursday come after a fairly cordial meeting he had with Powell at the Federal Reserve headquarters last week to review the building’s ongoing renovation.

The Fed chair spoke highly of Trump’s visit Wednesday, saying it was an “honor” to host the president. Just after the visit, Trump said there was no tension between him and the chair he has railed against for years.

The president predicted the Fed “probably won’t” lower rates earlier Wednesday, adding at the time, “I hear they’re going to do it in September, not today. For what reason? Nobody knows.”

He also said that there’s “a lot of money coming in” and “no inflation,” so rates should be lower.

The latest rate announcement came just days before Trump’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline. Powell has cited uncertainty around the president’s trade agenda and the volatility of markets as a reason to hold interest rates steady.