Federal Reserve Once Again Holds Rates Steady Despite Pressure From Trump

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday in its fourth meeting of 2025 that it would continue to hold interest rates steady.

The Fed’s decision to maintain its target range at 4.25% to 4.5% met economists’ expectations. The central bank similarly decided to hold interest rates steady in its previous three meetings of 2025.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates in recent months, referring to him as “too late Powell” in a June 4 Truth Social post.

“‘Too Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,’” Trump wrote in the post. “He [Powell] is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!”

Additionally, the president stated in an April 17 post to Truth Social that the central bank has been “TOO LATE AND WRONG” in maintaining its target range, adding that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough.”

In May, Trump’s Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte publicly urged Powell to lower interest rates, claiming that there was “no reason” for the Fed not to slash rates.

The central bank has indicated that they are waiting to see how the U.S. economy fares under Trump’s policies before making any changes to interest rates. Powell said during an April speech at the Economic Club of Chicago that he believes “for the time being” the Fed is “well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments” to its policy stance.

The Federal Reserve’s decision comes after the U.S. economy added slightly more jobs than expected in May.