Summary
After the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the fifth consecutive meeting on July 30, 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell “too stupid” and “too political.” The Fed held its key rate at ~4.3% despite Trump’s demands for cuts. Two governors — Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman — dissented in favor of a cut, the first dual governor dissent in over three decades. PCE inflation rose to 2.6% YoY in June.
Key Points
- Trump’s Truth Social post: Powell is “TOO LATE… TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL” — called him “a TOTAL LOSER”
- Fed held federal funds rate at 4.25%–4.5% for fifth straight meeting
- PCE inflation: 2.6% YoY in June (up from 2.4% in May); core at 2.8%
- Governors Waller and Bowman voted for a cut — first dual governor dissent since the early 1990s
- Powell: tariffs are “starting to push up prices” — “a risk to be assessed and managed”
- Powell explicitly declined to commit on September meeting: “We have made no decisions about September”
- Adriana Kugler (one governor) was absent and did not vote
Newsletter Angles
- The five-hold streak is the clearest evidence yet that the Fed under Powell is genuinely resisting political pressure — making the Burns-Volcker historical parallel directly applicable
- The dual dissent (Waller/Bowman both Trump appointees) raises the question: are they dissenting on economic grounds, or auditioning to be Trump’s next Fed chair?
- Trump’s own tariffs created the inflation that’s preventing the rate cuts he demands — the self-defeating loop is a sharp newsletter angle
Entities Mentioned
- Jerome Powell — Fed chair who held the line
- Donald Trump — attacked Powell publicly
- Federal Reserve — held rates fifth consecutive time
- Christopher Waller — governor who dissented in favor of cut
- Michelle Bowman — governor who dissented in favor of cut
Concepts Mentioned
- Fed Independence — central conflict of the piece
- Tariff-Driven Inflation — reason for the rate hold despite Trump pressure
Quotes
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair.” — Donald Trump, Truth Social
“That is a risk to be assessed and managed.” — Jerome Powell, on tariff-driven inflation
Notes
Times of India sourcing; citing AP. Short piece, corroborated by multiple other sources covering the same July 30 FOMC meeting.