President Donald Trump said he would welcome anyone but Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates as the U.S. is faced with having to refinance about $9 trillion in debt.
Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo sat down with Trump for an interview that aired Sunday, when she asked the president how he was going to deal with the $9 trillion in debt that is due this year.
Trump said he was going to refinance the $9 trillion as short-term debt because “we have a stupid person” at the Federal Reserve.
The president explained his desire for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates so the U.S. does not have to pay for 10 years of debt at a higher rate.
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“Then we’re gonna get somebody into the Fed who’s going to be able to lower [the rates],” Trump said, noting the rates should be at 1 or 2%. “You know, if you look at Switzerland, they’re the lowest right now. They’re at much less than one point, and frankly, we should be there, too, because… without the United States, the whole world doesn’t work.”
Bartiromo then turned the president’s attention to a possible replacement for Powell, who has less than a year remaining in his term as federal chair, as his term expires in May 2026.
Trump nominated Powell to the role in 2017, though the president has signaled he will not nominate the chair for another term. In fact, Trump recently gave Powell the nickname of “Mr. Too Late,” amid his efforts to lobby the Fed to cut interest rates.
Trump has suggested he could name Powell’s successor in the near future, well in advance of the end of Powell’s term.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is one of the leading contenders for the role, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter, though the outlet noted the administration has not started formal interviews.
Another contender is former Fed official Kevin Warsh, who Trump considered for the treasury secretary role before opting to nominate Bessent, Bloomberg reported.
During Bartiromo’s interview with Trump, the host noted that Trump had teased a couple of names and that he had a couple of people in mind to succeed Powell.
“They’ll all be good,” Trump said, before the host asked if his decision not to appoint one now was being done to put more pressure on Powell.
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Trump said reporters had asked him if he had other names.
“I say, ‘yeah, I do. Anybody but Powell,’” the president said.
He also said reporters would ask if “Kevin” was a contender.
“Kevin is very talented, but I don’t know if it’s gonna be him. But he’s a very talented guy,” Trump said. “He wouldn’t be doing what Powell is.”
Trump slammed Powell last week for not cutting interest rates, as the Federal Reserve chair testified before a Senate panel.
“I think he’s terrible,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
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Trump reiterated his criticism of Powell for keeping interest rates too high, saying the country will have to pay more for debt.
Trump had previously targeted Powell on Tuesday ahead of his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.
“I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hard-headed person, over. We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come. THE BOARD SHOULD ACTIVATE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president said in a post on Truth Social.
During his testimony on Tuesday, Powell said that the economy is in a “solid position” as the central bank monitors inflation and labor market data for signs that it needs to adjust monetary policy.
The Fed has held off on cutting interest rates due to uncertainty over trade policy, as Trump has imposed tariffs on U.S. trading partners. Tariffs are taxes on imports that are generally paid by the importer, who often passes some or all of those additional costs on to consumers.
“We do expect tariff inflation to show up more, but I want to be honest, we really don’t know how much of that is going to be passed through to consumers. We just don’t, and we won’t know until we see it. It could be lower than we expected, it could be higher. We have to wait and see which is kind of what we’re doing,” Powell explained.
The Fed’s three interest rate cuts last year – including the 50-basis-point cut in September as well as the two 25-basis-point cuts in November and December – were discussed as a lawmaker asked whether conditions are similar now and could lead to a rate cut.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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