Fix the Fed rates or get fired

By pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower its benchmark interest rate, President Donald Trump is changing the “you’re fired” phrase he used when he was a game show host.

Speaking at the Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Trump not only renewed his repeated threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but added Treasury Secretary Scott Besent to the list of firings if the Fed does not move faster to lower borrowing costs. It was not clear how serious Trump was about either threat.

“The only thing that makes Scott angry is the Fed, because…interest rates are too high. Scott, if you don’t fix this quickly, I’m going to fire you,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and the Fed for keeping the federal funds rate higher than he wanted. The Fed kept interest rates steady all year before cutting them by a quarter of a percentage point at each of its last two meetings.

Fed officials are divided on whether to cut interest rates again in December, with some policymakers concerned that Trump’s tariffs are sending inflation higher.

Trump said the Fed should lower interest rates to lower mortgage rates and boost the economy, while reducing the amount of interest the United States pays on the national debt. However, some experts doubt that lowering interest rates will have the intended effect.

Powell does not report to Trump or Picent, who runs the Treasury Department under executive authority. Trump said Bescent urged him not to fire Powell, whose term ends in May.

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

Trump’s attempt to fire Powell is also likely to be challenged in court and raises questions about the Fed’s independence.

Congress established the central bank as independent from the White House, allowing any president to appoint only a few people to the Fed’s board during his or her term. Lawmakers wanted the Fed to be able to resist political pressure to cut interest rates unnecessarily, which might boost the economy in the short term but could boost inflation.