Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell isn’t budging — not as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure, not as the calls to cut interest rates grow louder, and not as the standoff between the two stretches into yet another high-stakes moment for the U.S. economy. Trump has spent months trying to force Powell’s hand, publicly hammering the Fed chairman as the man standing in the way of lower borrowing costs and faster economic momentum. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and US President Donald Trump speak at a news conference at the Federal Reserve headquarters, following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2025. (Photos: Getty Images) But this week, Powell made it clear the pressure isn’t working. The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday, March 18, that it would hold its benchmark interest rate steady — a decision that once again put Powell directly at odds with a president who’s made no secret of how badly he wants rates to come down. ‘What a Disgrace!’: Hegseth Rushes In to Clean Up Trump’s PR Disaster — Then Spins a Story So Outrageous It’s Ripped Apart in Real Time and Makes the Whole Thing Worse In a statement after the 11-1 vote, the Fed said, “Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated.” “The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain,” the board wrote of their decision to leave the federal funds rate alone, according to National Public Radio. But in a press conference after the vote, Powell directly blamed Trump after a reporter asked how an elevated inflation rate impacted the board’s decision. “Let me say we’re well aware of the performance of inflation over the last few years and how a series of shocks have interrupted progress that we’ve made over time, and that happened most recently with tariffs, and now there will be some effects on inflation coming forward,” he said seemingly referring to Trump’s deadly war on Iran that has sent energy prices spiking in recent weeks. View on Threads When Trump returned to office in January 2025, one of the first actions he took was implementing whipsawing tariffs on allies and foes alike. At one point he hiked levies on some countries to 50 percent and spent months playing cat and mouse with China, threatening to enact tariffs as high as 145 percent against Beijing, wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy. A furious Trump responded to Powell on Thursday, March 19, taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office and calling Powell “grossly incompetent.” Trump first commented on a Department of Justice criminal investigation into Powell’s handling of a renovation now underway at the Fed’s headquarters building in Washington. The investigation hit a large snag last week when U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., Judge James Boasberg quashed two subpoenas the DOJ had sought against Powell in connection with the investigation. “He is under investigation because he is building a building … for hundreds of millions of dollars more than it’s supposed to cost,” Trump told reporters. “Now, I know it’s gross incompetence, because I happen to think he’s grossly incompetent. Today, certainly, he should be lowering interest rates, alright, certainly, who would not lower them? But he’s stubborn, and he’s got Trump Derangement Syndrome,” an enraged Trump whined. View on Threads “He should be lowering rates immediately, but he won’t do that because he’s he’s a stubborn, incompetent person, and that’s a bad thing,” Trump groused. “You know, when you’re stubborn and incompetent, I think it’s the worst combination,” he angrily spat out as critics contend Trump was actually describing himself. Social media erupted at the public display of grievance from a president who just took the U.S. into what some are calling an unwinnable war against Iran after campaigning for years against involvement in foreign wars. “The economy is in a shambles thanks to Trump. The Stock market is crashing and everyone seems to be ignoring it. This bullsh-tting grifter needs to be removed. Unfit,” a Threads user declared. Another chimed in, “Trump says Jerome Powell won’t lower rates because he has Trump Derangement Syndrome, not because they’ve destroyed the job market and jacked up inflation.” This poster said it’s like the pot calling the kettle black, “Man who is stubborn and incompetent accuses another man of being both stubborn and incompetent.” View on Threads The Justice Department’s Powell probe also puts Trump in an awkward situation, because not only is the Fed chair threatening to stay in his position until the investigation is completed, senior Banking Committee member North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis says he won’t advance Trump’s pick to replace Powell until the probe is over. ‘He Needs to Be Removed’: Trump Goes All In Trying to Break Powell — Then Powell Stares Him Down and Unloads the Response That Sends Trump Into a Tailspin ...read more read less