The relationship between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is rapidly deteriorating.
At the heart of the conflict is Powell’s reluctance to lower interest rates, a stance rooted in the Fed’s cautious, data-dependent approach to managing inflation and economic growth.
Trump, who appointed Powell as Fed chair in 2017, has grown increasingly vocal in his criticism, repeatedly urging the central bank to cut rates as a way to stimulate the economy.
In recent weeks, the president has intensified his pressure campaign, publicly chastising Powell and using personal insults to express his frustration with the Fed’s decisions.
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Timeline:
Jan. 29: The Fed holds rates steady amid inflation uncertainty. Trump says in a social media post that if the “Fed had spent less time on DEI, gender ideology, green energy, and fake climate change” the nation’s inflation rates would not have been an economic issue.
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Powell pushed back on former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk’s claims that the Fed is “absurdly overstaffed.”
“We run a very careful budget process where we’re fully aware. We owe that to the public, and we believe we do that. I’ve got no further comment on that, thanks,” Powell told FOX Business during a press briefing. Powell also announced that the central bank would hold interest rates steady.
Feb 12: Trump says lower interest rates will go “hand-in-hand” with his administration’s tariff rollout. “Let’s rock and roll, America,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
March 19: Powell announces the Fed will continue holding interest rates steady.
April 4: Trump turns up the heat on Powell in a Truth Social post in all caps, writing, “CUT INTEREST RATES JEROME AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS.”
April 17: Trump says in a social media post that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough,” adding the Fed chief he tapped in 2017 is “always too late and wrong.”
April 21: The president demands “major loser” Powell immediately cut rates.
May 7: Powell says the Fed will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
May 8: Trump calls Powell a “fool” who “doesn’t have a clue” the morning after the Fed left rates at the 4.25% to 4.5% range. He later says Powell did not cut rates because he was “not in love with me.”
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May 29: Powell meets with Trump at the White House for the first time since the start of the president’s second term.
June 19: The president calls Powell “truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in government” in a Truth Social post. He added that his current Fed chair is an “American disgrace.”
June 21: Trump says he was considering changing his mind about firing Powell, who he called a “total and complete moron.” “Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have to change my mind about firing him?” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
June 24: In a social media post, Trump says he hopes lawmakers work “this very dumb, hardheaded person, over.” The Truth Social post came ahead of Powell’s appearance before the House Financial Services Committee.
June 25: During a NATO press briefing, Trump said Powell had a “low IQ” and that he was considering three or four candidates to take the Fed chair job.
June 30: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reads out from Trump to Powell during a press briefing. Trump called Powell by the nickname “Mr. Too Late” and said that by not cutting rates, the Fed chair has cost the U.S. “hundreds of billions of dollars.”
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July 8: Trump calls on “terrible” Powell to resign immediately and tells reporters, “We should get somebody in there that’s going to lower interest rates.”
July 14: Trump describes Powell as a “knucklehead” and a “stupid guy,” citing frustrations over Powell’s refusal to cut rates. “We should be at 1%. We should be less than 1%,” the president said of the rates.
July 15: Trump calls renovation cost overruns at the Federal Reserve a “fireable offense” and says talking to Powell is “like talking to a chair.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House has begun a “formal process” to find Powell’s successor. Bessent declined to give a timeline for the nomination.
July 16: Trump asks House Republicans during a meeting if he should fire Powell. The president tells reporters at the White House “almost every one of them said I should” dismiss the Fed chair. He said it was unlikely he will fire Powell.
Trump also told reporters at the White House that Powell was doing a “lousy” job and that several people have called him begging for the role.
July 18: In a social media post, Trump calls Powell a “numskull” and says the seven people that make up the Federal Reserve Board of Governors are “equally to blame” for hurting the U.S. economy.
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