Fix Fed Rates or You’re Fired

In pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower its benchmark interest rate, President Donald Trump is putting a twist on his “you’re fired” catchphrase from his days as a game show host.

Speaking at a Saudi Arabian investment forum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Trump not only renewed his frequently repeated threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, but added his own Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, to the firing list if the Fed does not move faster to lower borrowing costs. It was unclear how serious Trump was with either threat.

“The only thing Scott’s blowing it on is the Fed, because … the rates are too high. Scott, if you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m going to fire your ass,” he said, provoking laughter in the audience.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and the Fed for keeping the influential fed funds rate higher than he would like. The Fed kept its rate flat all year before cutting it by a quarter of a percentage point at each of its last two meetings.

Fed officials are split on whether to cut rates again in December, with some policymakers concerned that Trump’s tariffs are pushing up inflation.

Trump has argued the Fed should lower rates to push down mortgage rates and boost the economy, while reducing the amount of interest the U.S. pays on the national debt. However, some experts doubt cutting rates would have the intended effect.

Powell does not report to either Trump or Bessent, who runs the Treasury Department under the executive branch. Trump said Bessent has urged him not to fire Powell, whose term ends in May.

Trump’s campaign to pressure the Fed has included an attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, a member of the central bank’s policy committee. Cook has challenged her dismissal, and courts have so far allowed her to remain on the job pending the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case.

Trump attempting to fire Powell would likely also be challenged in court and raise questions about the Fed’s independence.

Congress established the central bank as independent of the White House, allowing any president to appoint only a handful of people to the Fed’s board during their term. Lawmakers wanted the Fed to be able to resist political pressure to lower interest rates unnecessarily, which might boost the economy in the short run but could stoke inflation.