Trump on Interest Rates: Powell ‘Too Late’ After Jobs Report
Trump Urges Fed’s Powell to Cut Interest Rates After Weak Jobs report
Updated June 04, 2025
President Donald Trump is again pressuring Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to implement interest rate cuts, citing a recent disappointing jobs report. The renewed call for lower rates comes amid ongoing economic uncertainty adn follows a report from ADP showing a significant slowdown in private sector job growth.
Trump voiced his frustration on truth Social, directly addressing Powell: “To Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,” he wrote, also stating, “He is astonishing!!!” The president has consistently urged the Fed to lower borrowing rates, hoping to stimulate economic growth.
The ADP report revealed that private payrolls increased by only 37,000 in May, a figure significantly below the Dow Jones estimate of 110,000. this marks the lowest monthly reading from ADP since March 2023.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release its monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls report soon. economists surveyed by Dow jones anticipate the BLS report to show an increase of 125,000 jobs. While the ADP and BLS reports often differ due to varying data collection methods, they collectively provide a more extensive view of the labor market.
Trump and Powell met at the White House recently to discuss the economy. According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump told Powell that the Fed chairman was “making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which is putting us at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries.” The Fed stated that Powell emphasized that monetary policy decisions would be based on objective economic data, not political considerations.
trump has frequently criticized Powell as retaking office, even suggesting he considered firing the Fed chair before his term expires in May 2026. While Trump has as seemingly backed away from those threats, he continues to publicly express his dissatisfaction wiht the Fed’s current policies regarding interest rate policy and its impact on economic growth.
Simultaneously occurring, the European Central Bank is expected to lower rates again, marking its eighth cut as last June. This move comes as the euro zone experiences easing inflation and slow growth, prompting further monetary easing despite global economic uncertainties.
What’s next
The upcoming BLS jobs report will be closely watched for further insights into the state of the U.S. labor market and potential implications for future monetary policy decisions regarding interest rate policy and economic growth.
