Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ratcheted up the Trump administration’s pressure for Federal Reserve rate cuts by bluntly stating the central bank’s benchmark is at least 1.5 percentage points too high.
“I think we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis point rate cut in September,” Bessent said in Bloomberg Television interview this morning, adding that “we should probably be 150, 175 basis points lower” than the current range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
Bessent added cuts could have occurred if the Fed officials had access to revised labor market data.
“I suspect we could have had rate cuts in June and July,” Bessent said, referring to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Aug. 1 that downwardly revised the May and June payroll gains by 258,000.
Yesterday, Bessent stated on Fox Business that he hoped the US Senate would confirm Stephen Miran, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a temporary vacancy on the Federal Reserve board before the next rate policy meeting occurs in September.
This administration is as delusional as home buyers waiting for 3% mortgage rates. You can’t expect rate cuts when you’re constantly rolling out tariffs that fuel inflation. We would have rate cuts months ago if not for these stupid tariffs. Can we bring DEI back? At least DEI appointments are qualified people of color who knows what they’re doing. These clowns running our country right now can’t even pass Econ 101.
you are spot on
Since when can the U.S. Treasury Secretary tell the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. The Federal Reserve is an independent entity, and its decisions regarding monetary policy are made by the Federal Open Market Committee WHICH IS FREE FROM DIRECT POLITICAL INFLUENCE. The Fed’s independence is crucial for maintaining price stability and a healthy economy.
Oh but wait….current administration just fires anyone that doesn’t agree with them and replaces them with their puppets. Hold on Americans! We should be furious and rebelling!
The Federal Reserve is unconstitutional and should be completely abolished. The tariffs are not fueling inflation. Take an Econ 101 class. It has been observed by many that the Fed is highly political and bases their decisions on what will help the Democrap Party. I’vd seen it all my life.