US President Donald Trump renewed his pressure on the US central bank to cut interest rates immediately, while also praising former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh as the “new head of the Fed coming”.
Trump during lunch with the Trump Kennedy Center Board Members criticised current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for being slow to ease monetary policy and reiterated his long-standing demand for rate cuts to support economic growth.
“He should cut interest rates. He should cut them right now,” Trump said, calling on the Federal Reserve to convene a special meeting to reduce borrowing costs.
The US President argued that the economic environment warrants immediate action by the central bank. “What's a better time to cut interest rates than now?” he said, adding that even a “third-grade student would know that.”
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Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell's leadership at the Fed, accusing the central bank of being “too late” in responding to economic conditions.
This comes ahaead of the Federal Reserve meeting that is set to begin on Tuesday. After cutting interest rates three times in late 2025, Fed officials left their policy rate unchanged in a range of 3.5% to 3.75% in January. However, policymakers are expected to keep interest rates unchanged as they balance inflation risks and the recent spike in crude oil prices.
The US-Israeli assault on Iran has injected significant uncertainty into the economic outlook. It has also led to a sharp rise in oil prices threatening to put pressure on inflation and dampen economic growth. In addition, employment data is forcing policymakers to reconsider their assessment of the labor market's stability.
While addressing the ongoing war with Iran the president said that US has achieve 95% reduction in Iran drone attacks. He added that the campainf continued in 'full force' and they have struck over 7,000 targets across Iran.
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