President Donald Trump took to social media Monday to unload on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for refusing to reduce the federal funds rate — and asserted that the Federal Reserve has “failed” at its job.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, and his entire board, should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, citing the current target interest rate of around 4.5%.
“They have one of the easiest, yet most prestigious, jobs in America, and they have failed, and continue to do so. If they were doing their job properly, our country would be saving trillions of dollars in interest cost. The board just sits there and watches, so they are equally to blame. We should be paying 1% Interest, or better!”
One of the Federal Reserve’s primary responsibilities is to set the federal funds rate, which sets the target interest rate at which banks can lend money, rates that influence rates across the economy, from credit card annual percentage rates to mortgage rates. The Federal Reserve is also responsible for managing inflation, with the federal funds rate being its primary tool to do so, where rates will often increase amid rising inflation, and decrease as inflation slows.
While inflation has cooled in recent months, sitting at 2.4% as of May of 2025, the Federal Reserve has not dropped interest rates since December of 2024, a decision that continues to draw the ire of Trump.
White House Press Secretary Keroline Leavitt took Trump’s criticisms a step further, when shortly after Trump’s social media post, alleged the Federal Reserve chair position had become politicized, and to the benefit of members of the Democratic Party.
“Jerome Powell cut rates numerous times ahead of the election when Joe Biden was in this Oval Office, but now he refuses to when the economy is in a much better place,” Leavitt said. “So there really isn’t a good explanation for that, and the president is rightfully calling attention to it.”
