President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would love to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he has long criticized for what he sees as a failure to cut interest rates fast enough.

Trump blasted Powell without mentioning his name at the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Washington on Wednesday. He told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Powell needs to work on him.

“Mortgage rates are down despite the Fed. I mean, Scott, you got to work on this guy. He’s got some real mental problems. No, he has something wrong with him.”

Trump then used profanity to express his frustration with the Fed chairman.

“I’ll be honest, I’d love to fire his ass. He should be fired. Guy’s grossly incompetent.”

The Federal Reserve cut rates by a quarter percent or 25 basis points in September and October. This came after months of pressure from Trump, who nicknamed Powell Too Late earlier this year.

The Federal Reserve was misled by its fear of the Trump tariffs according to a historical study from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank. A typical large tariff hike roughly a four percentage-point rise in the average tariff rate shows up in the pre-World War II historical record as associated with about two percentage points less inflation and one percentage point more unemployment.

The authors of the paper admit that they do not know exactly how this works but note that it is akin to what you would expect from a decline in demand.

That is the opposite of what the Federal Reserve told itself about tariffs in 2025.

When policymakers get the sign of an economic shock wrong, when they mistake its direction, they naturally respond in the wrong direction too.

Trump also blasted Powell for cost overruns at the Fed as he did when he was on Powell’s turf touring construction over the summer. He said Wednesday Powell should be sued for the overruns.

Trump said in July that the project initially had an estimated price tag of 1.9 billion dollars in 2021 according to Fortune. The cost ballooned to 3.1 billion dollars. On Wednesday Trump put the cost at 4 billion dollars.

“I’m building a ballroom that’s going to cost a tiny fraction of that, and it’s bigger than the whole thing put together.”

The president’s public attack on Powell represents an escalation in their ongoing feud over monetary policy. Trump has consistently argued that the Fed has kept interest rates too high for too long, hurting the economy and making it harder for Americans to afford homes and cars.

Powell was originally appointed by Trump during his first term as president. The Fed chairman has maintained that the central bank must remain independent from political pressure and make decisions based on economic data rather than what any president wants.

The relationship between Trump and Powell has been rocky since the Fed began raising interest rates years ago to combat inflation. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell on social media and in public statements, arguing that lower rates would boost economic growth.

The president’s comments at the Saudi investment forum came as he was trying to attract foreign investment to the United States. His criticism of Powell in that setting suggests Trump sees high interest rates as a major obstacle to economic expansion.

Trump’s claim that Powell is grossly incompetent and has mental problems represents some of his harshest public language yet about the Fed chairman. Previous presidents have typically avoided such direct personal attacks on Fed leaders out of respect for the central bank’s independence.

The construction cost overruns Trump mentioned relate to a Federal Reserve building project that has become a source of embarrassment. What started as a project estimated at under 2 billion dollars has more than doubled in cost according to Trump’s figures.

Trump’s comparison to his own construction projects is meant to highlight what he sees as government waste and mismanagement. He has long touted his experience as a developer and builder as evidence he can run things more efficiently than career bureaucrats.

The Fed has defended its interest rate policy as necessary to bring inflation under control after it spiked to the highest levels in decades. Powell has argued that cutting rates too quickly could allow inflation to return and cause even more economic damage.

Trump clearly disagrees with that assessment and believes the Fed should have cut rates much faster and deeper than it has. His public pressure campaign against Powell shows no signs of letting up as the president pushes for monetary policy he believes will boost the economy.

The tension between Trump and Powell highlights a fundamental question about how much influence presidents should have over Federal Reserve decisions. The Fed was designed to be independent precisely to keep it free from political pressure.