Topline
President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the Federal Reserve, arguing the central bank’s latest reduction in interest rates could have been doubled, while calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell a “stiff.”
Betting markets and Wall Street expected a third consecutive cut in interest rates, but now forecast a cautious approach from the Fed in 2026.
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Key Facts
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 in favor of lowering interest rates by a quarter-point to between 3.5% and 3.75%, down from the 3.75% and 4% range the central bank approved during the FOMC’s October meeting.
Three Fed officials dissented for the first time since September 2019: Fed Governor Stephen Miran preferred to lower the range by a half-point, while Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid preferred for rates to be held as is.
The Fed’s “dot plot,” which outlines the central bank’s policymaking expectations, indicated just one quarter-point interest rate cut is expected in 2026 and another in 2027, when the funds rate is expected to reach a targeted rate of 3% to 3.25%.
The Fed’s statement was tweaked to say it would consider the “extent and timing of additional adjustments” to interest rates—language last used by the central bank in December 2024, after which the FOMC opted not to approve reductions until September.
What Did Donald Trump Say About Interest Rates?
Trump, a critic of Powell who he’s consistently accused of being “too late” to cutting interest rates, said the Fed’s move to lower interest rates by a quarter-point could have been “at least doubled.” Trump, who spoke Wednesday during a roundtable meeting with CEOs, added to his criticism of Powell, calling the Fed chair “a stiff” and a “dead head” who approved a “rather small cut.” Trump added, “We have to get a mindset that when a country is doing well, you don’t want to kill the growth. That’s what [the Fed is] doing. They kill the growth.”