President Donald Trump wants Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to “resign immediately,” after he was accused of lying to Congress.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump declared, “‘Too Late’ should resign immediately!!!” using his favored nickname for Powell, whom he appointed to the top Fed post in 2017.
The president has long criticized Powell for keeping interest rates steady, accusing him of delaying necessary rate cuts.
Trump’s latest remarks followed revelations made by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, who claimed Powell had lied to Congress during a recent appearance before the Senate Banking Committee.
Trump shared a Bloomberg article detailing Pulte’s criticism of Powell, who he accused of deliberately misleading lawmakers about a massive renovation project at the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, which is slated to cost $2.5 billion.
In a direct note to Powell earlier in the week, Trump reportedly urged him to slash interest rates.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read the message aloud on Monday.
“‘Jerome, you are, as usual, too late. You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so,'” Trump wrote.
“‘You should lower the rate by a lot. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being lost and there is no inflation.'”
During Senate questioning, Powell defended the renovation budget by saying that some of the more luxurious items had been dropped from earlier plans.
He argued that other costs, including marble work and elevator repairs to executive offices, were part of standard maintenance for a historic structure.
Pulte didn’t buy that defense. In a scathing statement released Wednesday, he wrote, “I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed ‘for cause.'”
He cited Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who reportedly claimed Powell “made a number of factually inaccurate statements to the [Senate] Committee regarding the Fed’s plush private dining room and elevator, skylights, water features and roof terrace.”
“Jerome Powell’s $2.5B Building Renovation Scandal stinks to high heaven, and he lied when asked about the specifics before Congress. This is nothing short of malfeasance and is worthy of ‘for cause,'” Pulte added.
“Chairman Powell needs to be investigated by Congress immediately.”
The FHFA director has been echoing Trump’s long-standing criticisms of Powell’s handling of interest rates.
Pulte said the Fed’s rate of 4.25 to 4.5 percent has slowed economic activity, especially in the housing sector, where mortgage rates have hovered near 7 percent.
Pulte argued that as overseer of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he’s uniquely positioned to witness the fallout.
“As Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I can tell you that Jay Powell is hurting the housing market by being Too Late to lower rates. He needs to resign, effective immediately,” Pulte said last week.
While testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said the Fed will react to the data before making any changes.
“For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” he remarked.
Though he said that inflation will likely increase over the summer months, saying, “We do expect it to move in the summer.”
Trump has repeatedly said Powell’s decisions are costing the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars, warning that other countries have already taken steps to cut rates while the Fed continues to sit idle.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, indicated that lawmakers are open to looking into Powell’s conduct.
“We haven’t discussed that specifically,” Jordan said in an interview. “But everything is on the table. We’ll take a look at that.”
“Part of our constitutional duty is to do oversight of the executive branch, and, in our committee, we do oversight of the judicial branch as well,” he added.
