US President Donald Trump renewed pressure on the Federal Reserve after it raised rates for the first time since 2023, calling for borrowing costs of 1% or lower even as his own pick, Kevin Warsh, backed the hike.
The US president renewed his demand hours after the central bank delivered its first rate increase since 2023.
"Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR. Our Country is BOOMING with new Investment!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He added that ending trade with countries running surpluses against the US "would make, at least, 1.5 Trillion Dollars a year," calling the word "deficit" merely "a fancy word for LOSS."
"We are 'carrying' almost every country in the World, and that cannot go on any longer. LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST!" he wrote.
Trump's outburst followed a unanimous decision by the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4%, the first hike in three years, as policymakers moved to tackle inflation that remains above the Fed's 2% target.
ALSO READ: Fed Delivers First Rate Hike In Three Years As Kevin Warsh Starts Battling Inflation
The increase puts Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, Trump's own pick to succeed Jerome Powell earlier this year, at odds with the president for the first time since taking office.
Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Trump said, "I want [the Fed] to be independent, but my opinion, I'm very good at this stuff — is interest rates are too high. We should be paying the lowest interest rates anywhere in the world because we have the strongest credit."
Additionally, He retained confidence in Warsh despite the hike. "I do, I mean I'm relying on Kevin," he said, adding that he did not believe Warsh had bowed to any political pressure in backing the increase.
He reserved his sharpest criticism for the wider central bank board, calling it 'very hostile' and 'very political'.
"They're raising the rates to make Trump do as bad as they can possibly can do," he told reporters.
The Fed hike also comes amid a growing rift within the administration over the causes of persistent inflation, with White House officials attributing price pressures to an energy supply shock — a view at odds with Warsh's own explanation for Wednesday's decision.
Trump has repeatedly pressed for the US to have the world's lowest borrowing costs, arguing the country's economic strength justifies rates far below those of its global peers.
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