Trump calls on Fed once again to lower rates after solid April jobs report

President Donald Trump on Friday issued his latest call for the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, following a better-than-expected jobs report for April.

“Just like I said, and we’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!!” Trump wrote in an exuberant Truth Social post minutes after the latest nonfarm payrolls report came out.

“Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!” he wrote.

The post shows Trump continuing his efforts to influence the central bank’s decisionmaking process, challenging its long-held independence from the executive branch.

But it also shows Trump further scaling back his criticism of Fed chair Jerome Powell, whose job until recently appeared to be under threat.

Trump has long criticized Powell and badgered him to lower rates in hopes of spurring growth. Economic aide Kevin Hassett said last month that the White House was exploring rules under which the president could fire Powell.

Powell has maintained that Trump cannot legally fire him before his term as Fed chair expires in May 2026. But fears that Trump might still try to replace Powell with someone willing to bend to political pressure on rates spooked markets and investors around the world, at one point spurring a sell-off.

Since then, Trump has said he has “no intention” of firing Powell, and he has dialed back his criticism.

“I have a Fed person who is not really doing a good job,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on Tuesday, without ever mentioning Powell by name.

“I want to be very nice and respectful to the Fed,” he added. “You are not supposed to criticize the Fed; you are supposed to let him do his own thing, but I know much more than he does about interest rates, believe me.”

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