Trump ramps up assaults on Powell, calls for ‘loser’ Fed chair decrease charges ‘NOW’

President Donald Trump on Monday ratcheted up his power marketing campaign on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, calling him a “major loser” and caution that the U.S. economic system may decelerate until rates of interest are diminished straight away.

“‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates are being called for by many,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump claimed that there’s lately “virtually No Inflation” within the U.S., and that prices for power and “most other ‘things'” are at the decline.

“With these costs trending so nicely downward, 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,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s newest salvo in opposition to Powell — whom he appointed right through his first management — got here because the president and his crew are learning whether or not they are able to legally hearth the central financial institution chief prior to his time period expires in May 2026.

Powell has flatly said that the president can not take away him beneath the legislation.

Any strive through Trump to fireside Powell would most likely cause a steep unload in U.S. fairness markets, Evercore ISI Vice President Krishna Guha advised CNBC on Monday.

“If you start to raise questions about Federal Reserve independence, you are raising the bar for the Federal Reserve to cut. If you actually did try to remove the Federal Reserve chairman, I think you would see a severe reaction in markets with yields higher, dollars lower and equities selling off,” Guha stated on “Squawk Box.”

“I can’t believe that that’s what the administration is trying to achieve,” Guha stated.

The inventory marketplace, already reeling from heightened uncertainty and different issues stemming from the Trump management’s sweeping tariff plans, sank additional Monday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 750 issues, a just about 2% drop, throughout the first hour of buying and selling, whilst the Nasdaq fell 2.6%.

The U.S. greenback, in the meantime, fell to its lowest stage since 2022. The churn in international markets has despatched buyers flocking to safe-haven belongings similar to gold, which hit a file prime worth on Monday, whilst the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield crept up.

Trump’s newest assaults on Powell adopted the central financial institution chief’s recommendation closing week that the president’s industry conflict will constrain enlargement and may gasoline inflation.

Tariffs are “likely to move us further away from our goals … probably for the balance of this year,” Powell stated on the Economic Club of Chicago.

Powell additionally stopped in need of suggesting that rate of interest cuts have been at the horizon.

“For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” he stated.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring contributed to this file.