Powell Faces Pressure From the Markets and Trump Over Rates

“A difficult place” Volatility has been a near-daily feature of President Trump’s trade war. And Thursday morning is no exception as the president escalates his feud with the Fed. The latest beef started on Wednesday.

Investors learned that the Fed was in no rush to bail out their battered portfolios even as Jay Powell, the central bank’s chair, warned that tariffs could . With Powell signaling that the central bank won’t intervene any time soon to buoy asset prices — known in market-speak as the “Fed put” — stocks fell sharply. But investors are questioning the Fed’s resolve and are left to wonder about threats to its independence.



repeating his frequent demand that the central bank lower borrowing costs. “‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’” . He added, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” (Powell’s term as the central bank’s chair ends next year; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has recently emphasized his good relations with the Fed chair, said this week that the White House will this fall.

) Markets are pricing in four Fed rate cuts this year. That’s even after Powell told the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday that “for the time being, we are well positioned to wait” as the Fed closely watches the inflationary effects of tariffs. (In the latest warning from corporate America, Ford said it may need to as soon as next month.

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