Merely ten days after United States President Donald Trump said that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will leave his position in eight months, the former called on the Fed's board of governors to seize control from the latter, continuing his long-running criticism of the central bank's monetary policy. Over a post on Truth Social, Trump slammed Powell as “stubborn moron” for holding interest rates steadily high despite weakening job data and escalating tariffs. If he doesn’t "substantially lower rates,” Trump wrote, “the board should assume control and do what everyone knows has to be done!" Powell has kept the Fed’s benchmark interest rate unchanged this year, citing a need to assess the full impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs on inflation. Trump: Powell 'should resign also' Later on Friday, the Fed announced that board member Adriana Kugler would step down next week. Trump used the opportunity to once again push for Powell’s resignation. “She knew he was doing the wrong thing on interest rates. He should resign, also!” Trump said in another social media post. The criticism followed the release of a disappointing July jobs report that showed only 73,000 new jobs added, well below expectations. Previous months' totals were also revised downward. Trump has repeatedly demanded aggressive interest rate cuts, by as much as 3 percentage points from the current average of 4.33 per cent, arguing that doing so would spur growth and reduce borrowing costs for households and the federal government. However, Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge is currently running at 2.6 per cent, above the 2 per cent target, raising concerns that steep cuts could overheat the economy. Despite the heated rhetoric, Trump said in a Newsmax interview, as cited by Reuters Friday that Powell will “most likely” remain in his role until his term ends in May 2026. “He gets out in seven or eight months and I’ll put somebody else in,” Trump said. “I would take him out in a heartbeat,” he added, but acknowledged that others have warned such a move could “disturb the market.” A Supreme Court ruling in May this year had suggested that Powell could not be removed over policy disagreements. However, according to AP, the White House had also been exploring whether Powell could be dismissed for cause, due to spending overruns tied to the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation. (With inputs from AP, Reuters)
