Trump Levels Fresh Attack on Federal Reserve Chairman, Calling Him a ‘Bad Person’ and Suggesting ‘Anybody’ Would Be Better in the Role

President Trump is not relenting in his criticism of the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, whom he calls a “bad person” who is “keeping rates artificially high.” Mr. Powell testified before Congress last week that he is keeping a close eye on how the president’s tariffs will impact inflation later this year and promised to be more cautious about rate cuts. 

The president has been criticizing Mr. Powell — who was appointed by the president during his first term — for more than five years, going back to 2020. Republicans were enraged by his decision to cut rates just before the 2024 election, and are now demanding that he chart the same course now that Mr. Trump is back. 

During an interview with Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” the president again went after the Fed chairman. He declined, however, to say that he would be fired. 

“We have a stupid person at the Fed,” Mr. Trump said when asked about the cost of America’s debt due to current rates. “I don’t want to pay — for ten years — debt at a higher rate, and we’re gonna get somebody into the Fed who’s gonna be able to lower the rate. We should be at one percent or two percent.”

“Reporters ask me, ‘Do you have other names?’ and I say ‘Yeah, I do,’” Mr. Trump said. “Anybody but Powell. He’s a bad person.”

Earlier in the interview, without being asked about Mr. Powell directly, Mr. Trump said he believes the economy is in great shape not because of the chairman’s work, but in spite of it. 

“We have a bad Fed chairman, but other than that, we have, you know, great [results],” the president said. “It doesn’t even matter — the numbers are so good — it doesn’t matter that he keeps the rate artificially high.”

Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has publicly and privately pushed the chairman to aggressively cut rates despite inflation concerns. Mr. Powell drew plenty of ire from the GOP when the Fed decided to keep rates steady at their June meeting. 

Shortly after that decision, Mr. Powell delivered his annual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, during which he defended the Fed’s independence. 

“It kinda raised some serious questions as to whether or not the data, like, truly supported such a move at that time, and I think some of us were surprised that it was a full half-percent,” one GOP lawmaker, Congressman Scott Fitzgerald, said of the Fed’s September 2024 rate cut. “Can you revisit that again — what the Fed was thinking at that time, because it seems to be somewhat of an enigma now. It stands out as, why was this done?”

Mr. Powell only responded to say that they believed a slight uptick in unemployment and a steady decrease in inflation drove their decision. He conceded that while inflation has continued to fall, the Fed is wary of another rate cut because of uncertainty around Mr. Trump’s tariff regime, which changes by the day based on trade deals his administration is trying to complete. 

The president did not say during his Fox News interview if he would make a move to fire Mr. Powell — something the chairman says is “not permitted under the law” — though Mr. Trump seemed to imply that he has one name on his radar: a former member of the Board of Governors, Kevin Warsh. 

“Kevin is very talented, but I don’t know if it’s going to be him, but he’s a very talented guy,” Mr. Trump said. “He wouldn’t be doing what Powell is.”