On Monday, the White House shared a handwritten note Trump penned to “Too Late” Powell, urging him once again to lower interest rates.
“Jerome — You are, as usual, ‘Too Late,’” it reads. “You have cost the USA a fortune — and continue to do so. You should lower the rate — by a lot! Hundreds of billions of dollars being lost! No inflation.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held the note aloft during the afternoon news briefing.
“The one problem that remains is high interest rates for the American people,” Leavitt said. “The American people want to borrow money cheaply, and they should be able to do that. But unfortunately, we have interest rates that are still too high. So the president sent this note to the Fed chairman today.”
.@PressSec reads a message from @POTUS to Jerome Powell: “Jerome, you are, as usual, ‘too late.’ You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so – You should lower the rate – by a lot! Hundreds of billions of dollars are being lost. No inflation.” pic.twitter.com/5SN0yh9YI2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 30, 2025
“I would remind the Fed chair and I would remind the entire world that this is a president who was a businessman first,” Leavitt added. “And he knows what he is doing.”
Trump has launched increasingly personal attacks on Powell, whom he appointed to the position in 2018, over his refusal to further lower interest rates despite softening inflation.
The Fed cut rates by a full percentage point last year but has opted to hold interest rates steady at 4.25% to 4.50% since Trump took office. That is despite the fact that inflation has fallen to 2.3%, which is within striking distance of the Fed’s 2% target.
Powell maintains that there is a good reason for his caution: the threat that tariffs will lead to price spikes later this year.
The potential for tariff-led inflation has prevented the Fed from moving to lower its interest rate target, Powell said in congressional testimony last week.
An interest-rate cut would be expected to make it easier for businesses and households to borrow money to finance purchases, something Trump is familiar with, given his history of developing massive real estate projects. It would also save the U.S. money by lowering debt payments.
‘Thank you for your attention to this matter’: Trump’s latest viral moment
Still, Trump has vowed not to fire Powell, and the Federal Reserve enjoys historical independence from the president as a way to maintain the integrity of financial markets.
The Washington Examiner has contacted the Federal Reserve seeking comment on Trump’s letter to Powell.
