Trump Humiliated by His Fed Chair’s Public Snub

President Donald Trump took a fresh economic hit on Wednesday when the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time since 2023.

Read more Mike Johnson Finds Crazed Way to Avoid Hegseth Impeachment Vote

The central bank’s decision came as Americans face higher costs, largely fueled by the president’s war with Iran and tariffs. Hiking rates is the Fed’s key tool to combat inflation.

“Inflation remains elevated. Today’s policy action will support a timelier return to the Committee’s 2 percent goal,” the statement read.

The rate hike was unanimously approved. The vast majority of officials also indicated a second interest rate increase this year.

The move could spark tensions between Trump and his hand-picked Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who assumed the job in May.

Trump has spent most of his first year in office attacking former Chair Jerome Powell for not bringing down the federal funds rate as fast as he wanted. The last time the rate was cut was under Powell last December.

This year, the rate has been held steady in the target range of 3.50 percent to 3.75 percent as the Fed monitored the state of the U.S. economy. But that is about to change.

The Fed has not hiked interest rates since July 2023 when Joe Biden was president. It then began cutting rates in 2024 while Biden was still in office.

Read more Republicans Panic as Trump Swiftly Derails Their Campaigns

The first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting under Warsh took place in June. Rates were also held steady at his second meeting as chairman in July.

While Trump raged about Powell not cutting rates, he stood by his pick to lead the Federal Reserve after the July announcement not to cut rates, calling him a “brilliant guy.”

“I know he’d love to see lower interest ​rates, but he’s got a board, and it’s a political board, ​and they want to keep rates up, but we fight through ⁠rates,” Trump said in the Oval Office on July 29.

He never mentioned the “board” when he repeatedly went on the attack against Powell before the former Fed chair’s term ended and instead suggested he had the unilateral power to slash rates.

Leading up to Wednesday’s announcement, investors were bracing for a hike as a series of fresh inflation data was not encouraging.

Warsh expressed concern in late August about elevated inflation while speaking at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he warned inflation remains too high

“We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do,” he said at the time.

Read more MAGA House Republicans Give Themselves Epic Vacation