Trump Calls Fed Chair Jerome Powell a ‘Numbskull,’ Claims Lack of Rate Cuts Are Costing US $600,000,000,000 a Year

US President Donald Trump has more insults for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

At a bill signing ceremony on Thursday, Trump claimed the government would save $600 billion a year in short-term debt payments if Powell lowered the federal funds rate by 2 percentage points.

In May, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that it planned to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25-4.5%, arguing that it was the most suitable level to achieve both maximum employment and controlled inflation. The Fed has held interest rates steady since December, when it cut the rate by 0.25%.

Trump says he’s not planning on firing Powell, but he slammed the Fed chair for not adjusting course.

“We’re going to spend $600 billion a year – $600 billion – because of one numbskull that sits there [and says] ‘I don’t see enough reason to cut the rates now.’ And the problem he’s got, and I explained to him… cut your rates now, there’s no inflation. We got it down, we got prices down.” 

Inflation rose by 2.4% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was slightly less than the 2.5% increase predicted by economists, CBS reports.

Powell met with Trump last month following a barrage of insults from the president. The Fed, however, noted in a statement following the meeting that Powell did not discuss interest rate expectations with the president.

“At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President today at the White House to discuss economic developments, including for growth, employment, and inflation.

Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook.

Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis.”

Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not slashing interest rates, saying earlier in May that communicating with the Fed chair was “like talking to a wall.”

“The Bank of England cut. China cut. Everybody’s cutting but him. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. It’s a shame. I call him ‘Too Late.’ Too Late Powell, that’s his nickname. And it’s a shame, it’s ridiculous… he’s always too late. But in this case, it’s not going to matter that much because our country is so strong, we’re so powerful in terms of economic strength and what we’ve done.” 

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