Dec. 29, 2025, 6:09 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump said he expects to announce his pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in January, a highly-anticipated moment for an institution that the president has assailed as he pushes to slash interest rates to boost economic activity.
Powell’s term as chair expires in May and Trump is eager to see him gone, repeatedly slamming his leadership of the central bank.
“I’d love to fire him but we’re so close” to his term expiring Trump said Dec. 29 during a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida with Israel’s prime minister.
The Fed cut interest rates three times this year, but Trump said the latest cut on Dec. 10 “could have been doubled.”
“The head of the Federal Reserve is a stiff,” Trump said in reacting to the rate cut during a roundtable discussion with business leaders. “You know, you fight that… interest rates are going down, except with him not too much. He did, I would say, a rather small number that could have been doubled — at least doubled.”
In general, the Fed cuts interest rates to stimulate a flagging economy and job market. It increases interest rates – or keeps them higher for longer – to lower inflation or prevent a spike in prices.
Trump selected Powell to lead the Fed in 2017 during his first term, but since returning to office the president has lashed out repeatedly at the Fed chair, dubbing him “too late,” threatening a lawsuit and sparing with him in person during a tour of the Fed’s building renovation.
The Fed cut its benchmark federal funds rate by another quarter point this month, lowering it to a range of 3.5% to 3.75% in a move aimed at boosting the labor market. But affordability remains a concern for many Americans. As borrowing costs get lower they could boost spending, putting upward pressure on prices, presenting a tricky balancing act for the Fed.
Contributing: Rachel Barber
