President Trump sends harsh message to Federal Reserve on interest rate cuts

Jobs report triggers latest round of demands from the White House.

Jun 7, 2025 - 19:58

President Trump sends harsh message to Federal Reserve on interest rate cuts

President Trump upped the ante on the Federal Reserve hours after the latest jobs report, angrily demanding Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell slash the federal interest rate to create greater demand for consumer loans and better terms for business investment.

And POTUS wasn’t shy about it.

The president pounded out a furious message to the central bank chair, once again calling him “Too Late” Powell in Truth Social media posts. The lashing included references to rate cuts in Europe, plus a debatable declaration that there is “virtually no inflation (anymore).”

The President’s June 6 comments came as the Department of Labor reported that hiring remained stable in May with employers adding 139,000 jobs, gains that were slightly higher than expected but down from April. The unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.2%, as expected by most economists.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is under fire from the White House over interest rate cuts.
Image source: Tom Williams/Getty Images

Soft jobs report triggers Trump

While stocks bounced on the jobs report and recession concerns eased a tad, there is still a strong sense of caution due to the recession and, in some corners, even stagflation concerns.

The $36.21 trillion U.S. debt, one of the major points of debate of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” now in the Senate, also made the president’s screed.

“If 'Too Late' at the Fed would CUT, we would greatly reduce interest rates, long and short, on debt that is coming due…Very Simple!!! He is costing our Country a fortune. Borrowing costs should be MUCH LOWER!!!,’’ wrote President Trump.

President Trump, just days before the June 6 jobs report, blasted the central bank chairman as “unbelievable” and a “disaster” on Truth Social for Powell’s delay in lowering interest rates, a move Trump maintains is choking economic growth.

Minutes from a meeting of the Federal Reserve Bank leaders, which was held in early May and released on May 29, show the central bank voted to undertake open market operations “as necessary” to maintain the federal funds rate in a target range of 4.25% to 4.50%.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System also voted unanimously in early May to approve establishing the primary credit rate at the existing level of 4.5%, meaning interest rates for lenders, consumers, and the rest of Americans likely won't fall in the short term.

This led to Trump’s increasing displays of frustration against Powell.

POTUS ups size of his demands

Veteran fund manager Chris Versace wrote on TheStreet Pro that the market will likely rethink the three 25-basis point rate cuts expected per the CME's Fed Watch Tool.

“With Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic signaling ahead of this data that he sees room for just one rate cut, the growing likelihood is more Fed heads will fall into that camp based on the aggregate data published this week.” Versace says. “ We also have to wonder if Bostic’s comment helps lay the groundwork for the Fed’s upcoming set of economic projections that it will publish alongside its next policy decision on June 18.’’

The chances of more than one rate cut in the second half of 2025 will likely increase if May CPI and PPI inflation data released this coming week support “May inflation data we’ve seen thus far and there is no meaningful progress on trade deals,’’ Versace says.

The president isn’t buying it.

“Too Late” at the Fed is a disaster! Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none,’’ Trump posted. Note that Europe has actually had eight central bank cuts recently, not ten.

“Despite (Powell), our Country is doing great,’’ Powell said. “Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!”

The “Rocket Fuel’’ moniker is apparently a new one from the White House.

A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve, responding to a comment about the full point cut, said, “We don’t have anything to share here.”