US President Donald Trump and Jerome Powell
Credit: Reuters File Photo
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, should “resign immediately,” escalating an earlier call less than a week ago encouraging him to do so.
The president has repeatedly lambasted Powell recently for not cutting interest rates, saying he was costing the country a “fortune” in debt-servicing costs. In a social media post Wednesday, Trump linked to an article about comments from Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who wrote on social platform X that the Fed chair should be investigated for “his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony.”
At issue is Powell’s insistence that the Fed can afford to be patient about cutting interest rates with the economy still on solid footing and inflation risks rising again because of Trump’s tariffs. At a panel Tuesday, Powell hinted that the Fed would have been able to lower rates if it were not for those policies.
In his statement on X, Pulte, who leads the agency that regulates mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, accused Powell of making false statements at a congressional hearing about the swelling costs of a planned renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. At that hearing, Powell pushed back on media reports that the plans included features like a VIP dining room and new marble table.
The administration’s attacks on Powell are not new. Just in the past week, Trump has called Powell a “stubborn mule” and penned him a handwritten note to apply pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates. The president has also previously threatened to remove Powell from his role as chair before his term expires in 2026, but the Supreme Court recently signaled he is not able to do so.