FED FEUDS

Trump Goes After ‘Incompetent’ Powell Before Interest Rate Decision

Even with his long-sought rate cut on the horizon, the president couldn’t resist another swing at the Fed chair.

President Donald Trump has hurled a new round of insults at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ahead of a pivotal week for the central bank.

The Fed is expected to deliver Trump’s long-sought interest rate cut on Wednesday, having held rates steady for nine months even as Powell absorbed a barrage of attacks from the commander-in-chief, who believes cheaper borrowing will boost the housing industry.

But despite it looking like he’s going to get his way, Trump had no kind words for Powell, whose term ends in May, when asked by a reporter Sunday if there was “any progress on the Fed chair.”

Though the question was likely in reference to the Trump administration’s search for Powell’s successor, the 79-year-old president instead took a swipe at Powell.

“Well, other than, I don’t like him?” he replied. “He’s incompetent. The Fed chairman’s incompetent.”

Trump then appeared to address the initial question, saying, “I have three people that I like a lot, any one of them would do a good job.”

He predicted that the central bank would announce a “big cut” on Wednesday, saying, “I don’t think [Powell] can help but cut it. It’s perfect for cutting.”

Trump continued his diatribe against Powell, 72, whom he first appointed during his first term in 2017, claiming, “the thing that he’s hurting the most is housing for people, because we’re doing well on everything. Energy is way down, groceries are down—almost everything is way down.”

Despite the president’s claims, Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday showed inflation is accelerating, as companies continued to push the cost of Trump’s tariffs onto consumers.

Groceries saw a big jump in costs in August, rising 2.7 percent from a year earlier, up from 2.2 percent in July. Meanwhile, the index for energy rose 0.7 percent in August.

New data also shows the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week rose 263,000, the worst level in four years, another sign that the labor market is softening.

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Rising inflation will likely prompt the Fed to approach any rate cuts carefully. While Trump has pushed for a 1 percent rate, the central bank is unlikely to lower the rate more than 0.5 percentage points from its current rate of 4.25 to 4.5 percent.

While Trump has moved to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee, he has said it’s “highly unlikely” he will try to fire Powell, opting to wait until next year to replace him.

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Earlier this month, Trump said his top three candidates to succeed Powell were Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, and Kevin Waller, a current Fed governor.

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