Trump Rages at Fed Boss Powell, Urges Board to Take Over Rate Decisions

President Trump is once again going nuclear on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — this time demanding the Fed’s board of governors wrest control from him after Powell refused to cut interest rates.

In a fiery Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump blasted Powell as a “stubborn MORON” and added:

 “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must substantially lower interest rates, NOW. IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL!”

The president also pointed to internal dissent on the Fed’s board, writing:

“STRONG DISSENTS ON FED BOARD. IT WILL ONLY GET STRONGER! ‘TOO LATE!’”

The Fed on Wednesday decided not to lower interest rates, keeping them steady at 4.25% to 4.5% — the fifth meeting in a row without a change. But this time, two top officials on the board — Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller — broke ranks and voted for a rate cut, marking the first double dissent in over 30 years.

Notably, both are considered potential replacements for Powell when his term ends in 2026 — and Trump has them on his radar.

Trump, who’s been hammering Powell for months, sees low interest rates as a boost for economic growth and a way to soften the blow from his aggressive tariff policies. He’s repeatedly argued inflation is under control and the Fed is being unnecessarily cautious.

Despite their frequent clashes, Trump and Powell had a rare face-to-face meeting last week during a tour of the Fed’s D.C. headquarters renovation. At the time, tensions seemed to cool. But after this week’s jobs report and the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady, Trump’s anger came roaring back.

“Too Little, Too Late. Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell is a disaster. DROP THE RATE!” Trump wrote Friday. “The good news is that tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!”

Adding fuel to Trump’s fury was Friday’s weak July jobs report: just 73,000 new jobs were added last month — way below expectations — and revisions slashed another 258,000 jobs from May and June combined. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.2%, but the slowdown added more urgency to Trump’s calls for a rate cut.

Not so fast. A Supreme Court ruling in May made it clear Trump can’t fire Powell just because they disagree on policy. But there have been whispers that the White House might try to oust him “for cause” — citing the $2.5 billion Fed building renovation project, which Trump says is bloated and mismanaged.

For now, Powell’s job is safe — but not exactly stress-free.

Trump’s aggressive push to influence monetary policy breaks with long-standing norms. The Fed is supposed to remain independent from the White House to avoid politicizing interest rate decisions — especially in an election year.

Still, the fight’s far from over. With inflation hovering at 2.6% (above the Fed’s 2% target), and Trump pushing for an eye-popping 3 percentage point rate cut, this showdown isn’t going away anytime soon.

With input from the Hill, CNN, and PBS News.