Trump says Fed could have ‘at least doubled’ latest interest rate cut

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Fed’s recent decision to cut benchmark interest rates by a quarter point could be “at least doubled.”

Trump, who has long called for the central bank to lower interest rates to spur more economic growth, called Fed Chairman Jerome Powell a “tough guy” who approved a “pretty small” cut.

Trump also said he plans to interview former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh later Wednesday during a roundtable with CEOs at the White House.

Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett are two of the top candidates to replace Powell when his term ends in May.

“I’m looking for someone who will be honest about interest rates,” Trump said, adding: “Our interest rates should be much lower.”

Powell has been a major target of criticism from Trump, who believes the Fed was too slow to cut interest rates in the first year of his second term as president.

Trump also lamented what he described as a tendency to raise interest rates following strong economic results.

“We’ll go back to the old days,” Trump said at the roundtable meeting. “When we announce great results, that doesn’t mean we’re going to raise interest rates and try to kill it.”

The president’s comments came shortly after the Fed announced a 25 basis point cut, its third of the year.

The decision was a middle ground choice for the divided Fed: Two members opted to leave rates unchanged, while Trump administration economic official Stephen Miran favored a bigger cut.

At a news conference later Wednesday, Powell said the latest rate cut was a “close call” that gave the Fed room to “wait and see how the economy develops.”

He also directly blamed Trump’s tariffs for the country’s “somewhat high” inflation level.

Pointing to the increase in two important inflation indicators, Powell said, “These data are higher than earlier this year due to the increase in goods inflation, which reflects the effects of tariffs.”