Overview

• Trump posted a handwritten Sharpie note on Truth Social telling Powell “You have cost the USA a fortune” and demanding interest rates be cut “by a lot.”
• He signalled plans to name a successor as early as fall 2025 to establish a “shadow Fed chair” that could sway market expectations before Powell’s term ends.
• Potential candidates floated include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, adviser Kevin Hassett and Fed Governor Christopher Waller.
• Fed officials held the federal funds rate at 4.25%–4.5% for a fourth meeting, citing tariff-driven inflation uncertainty and pledging to base any move on incoming data.
• A recent Supreme Court ruling and federal law bar removing Powell for policy disagreements, but bond-market swings show investors remain wary of White House interference.