Key Points

• President Donald Trump expressed continued confidence in Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, whom he nominated.
• However, Trump urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to 1% or less, just hours after the central bank's first rate hike since 2023.
• This marks a resurgence of Trump's public pressure campaign against the Fed, a pattern that had lessened after Warsh took over from Jerome Powell.

President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he maintains his confidence in Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, while simultaneously calling for the central bank to reduce interest rates to 1% "or less." These remarks followed closely behind the Federal Reserve's announcement of its first rate increase since 2023.

Warsh, who was appointed by Trump as Fed chair, had defended the widely anticipated 25-basis-point rate hike on Wednesday, deeming it an appropriate measure. The decision by the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to raise benchmark interest rates to a target range of 3.75% to 4% was unanimous.

When questioned by reporters about his confidence in Warsh after arriving for a campaign trip in North Carolina, Trump responded, "I do." He further commented, "I'm relying on Kevin, but he's got, you know, a very tough board, he's got a board that was put there by other people. And I told, I talked to Kevin, and I said, 'You might as well vote with the board. It's not going to matter.'"

Trump's public statements may potentially undermine prior assurances from both himself and Warsh regarding the Fed's independence from the White House. The president criticized the board, stating, "The board is very hostile. They're very political. They're doing the wrong thing." He added, "They're raising the rates to make Trump do as bad as they can possibly can do," speaking before a campaign event for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley.

However, when asked if he believed Warsh made the decision based on Trump's recommendations, the president replied, "No, I don't think so." He continued, "I want him to be independent."

Earlier on Wednesday, after the Fed's rate decision, Trump took to Truth Social to reiterate his demand for lower interest rates. "We are 'carrying' almost every country in the World, and that cannot go on any longer," Trump posted. "LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST!"

The FOMC statement following the rate hike noted, "Inflation remains elevated." Updated projections released on Wednesday indicated that a significant majority of Fed officials anticipate the possibility of another rate increase.

Despite this, Trump, who has consistently advocated for drastically lower borrowing costs, asserted in his Truth Social post that rates in the U.S. "should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR." He also claimed, "Our Country is BOOMING with new Investment!" While Trump has frequently cited figures of $20 trillion or more in new investments during his second term, fact-checkers have disputed these claims, with the White House previously stating that President Trump "has secured more than $11 trillion in new U.S. investment."

Trump further contended in his post, "If we stopped Trading with every country that we have a Deficit with, which is most of them, we would make, at least, 1.5 Trillion Dollars a year." This statement comes less than two weeks after Trump threatened to "cut off trade" with countries that have trade surpluses with the U.S. if the Fed did not lower rates. This group includes most of the U.S.'s top trading partners.

These aggressive threats have amplified Trump's long-standing pressure campaign against the Fed, which had seen a temporary lull after Warsh succeeded Jerome Powell as chairman. To date, Trump and his administration have avoided direct criticism of Warsh.

White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News earlier on Wednesday that Trump "absolutely" still believes in the independence of the Fed. However, Desai added, "But that doesn't change the fact that the president of the United States has a First Amendment right" to voice his opinions "when things go awry."