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Investing.com -- President Donald Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a White House news conference on Tuesday, claiming Powell has kept interest rates too high and will be leaving his position in eight months.
"I think he’s done a bad job, but he’s going to be out pretty soon anyway. In eight months, he’ll be out," Trump said during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Trump referred to Powell as "too late" and suggested the Fed chair may be keeping rates elevated for political reasons. He pointed out that Europe has lowered rates multiple times while the U.S. has not, making it difficult for Americans to purchase homes.
"People aren’t able to buy a house because this guy is a numbskull. He keeps the rates too high and probably doing it for political reasons," Trump stated.
The president also criticized a Federal Reserve building project, claiming it has a $900 million cost overrun with a total price tag of $2.7 billion. Trump questioned the need for the building, suggesting it was "another Biden deal."
Trump argued that U.S. interest rates should be at 1% instead of the current level around 4%, claiming this difference costs the country over $1 trillion in interest payments.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was present at the news conference, said he had called for the Federal Reserve to conduct "a big internal investigation" into what he described as "mission creep" at the central bank, particularly regarding its spending practices.