‘Terrible job’: US President Donald Trump blasts Fed’s handling of inflation after unchanged interest rates decision

US President Donald Trump sharply criticised the Federal Reserve's approach to bank regulation, accusing Chair Jay Powell of mishandling the battle against inflation. However, he refrained from directly addressing the issue of interest rates in his remarks.

"The Fed has done a terrible job on Bank Regulation. Treasury is going to lead the effort to cut unnecessary Regulation, and will unleash lending for all American people and businesses. If the Fed had spent less time on DEI, gender ideology, “green” energy, and fake climate change, Inflation would never have been a problem. Instead, we suffered from the worst Inflation in the History of our Country!,” Trump posted Wednesday on his social media site.

In a bold statement, US President Trump outlined his plans to tackle inflation and revitalise the American economy, criticising the Federal Reserve's handling of the situation. He emphasised that, unlike the Fed’s focus on what he termed "unnecessary issues," his administration would prioritise policies aimed at unleashing American energy production, cutting regulations, and strengthening the financial system.

“Because Jay Powell and the Fed failed to stop the problem they created with Inflation, I will do it by unleashing American Energy production, slashing Regulation, rebalancing International Trade, and reigniting American Manufacturing, but I will do much more than stopping Inflation, I will make our Country financially, and otherwise, powerful again!," he added.

Trump commented following the Federal Open Market Committee's unanimous decision to maintain the federal funds rate at 4.25%-4.5%. While he criticised Jay Powell and the Fed for failing to address the inflation they helped create, the former president did not specifically mention the rate decision in his remarks.

Trump, who repeatedly pushed the Fed to cut rates during his first term and said last week that he knew more about interest rates than Powell, is certain to become irritated by the halt.

The Fed chief emphasised that the US economy is generally in a "good place" and stated that policymakers wanted to see more inflation decreases before lowering rates. He also added that unforeseen labour market weakness might potentially lead to a move.

According to Powell, interest rates remain "meaningfully" higher than the so-called neutral rate, which is the point at which the Fed is neither stimulating nor slowing the economy.

-With agency inputs