Trump attacks Fed again in open letter calling for lower rates

President Trump sent a letter to Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell urging the central bank to lower interest rates "by a lot," the White House said on Monday.Why it matters: The administration has stepped up public pressure on the Fed, with top officials floating the possibility of announcing Powell's replacement months before his term expires.What they're saying: "Jerome 'Too Late' Powell, and his entire Board, should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to the United States," Trump posted on Truth Social. The intrigue: Trump's post included what appeared to be the letter, which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump sent to the Fed on Monday."You have cost the U.S.A. a fortune — and continue to do so," the letter, which was written on a document that lists foreign nations' interest rate levels, says. "You should lower the rate by a lot!"Trump again said that the Fed should be lowering rates to help save the government money on interest payments, a suggestion that is at odds with the Fed's mandates.What to watch: The Fed browbeating of Trump's first term looks mild relative to that of recent months. The threat of a "shadow Fed chair" might become reality, with reports that the Trump administration is considering naming Powell's successor as soon as this summer — a move that risks undermining Powell, whose term does not expire for another 11 months.A spot on the Federal Reserve Board opens in January, "so we've given thought to the idea that perhaps that person would go on to become the chair when Jay Powell leaves in May," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg on Monday. On Friday, Trump made the clearest suggestion yet that he wants the next Fed chair to do his bidding, saying he was going to nominate somebody who "wants to cut rates."Reality check: Powell told lawmakers last week that the Fed would have likely kept cutting rates, if not for the economic threats posed by Trump's trade policy. Inflation is at a four-year low, but projections suggest that tariffs will stoke higher prices. "If you just look at the basic data and don't look at the forecast, you would say that we would've continued cutting," Powell said at a congressional hearing.Two Trump-nominated Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, support cuts as soon as July — though that stance does not appear to be widely shared among other officials on the Fed's rate-setting committee.Editor's note: This story has been updated with recent background.

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