President Donald Trump escalated his public pressure campaign against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday, June 30, 2025, by sending a handwritten note written in black Sharpie marker demanding immediate interest rate cuts. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the correspondence during her daily briefing, holding up the chart for reporters to see.
The note was scrawled across a printout showing central bank rates from 44 countries worldwide, with Switzerland topping the list at 0.25 percent while the United States shared the bottom position at 4.5 percent alongside nine other nations. Trump wrote “Should be here” with an arrow pointing to the top of the list, indicating where he believes U.S. rates should be positioned.
The President’s personal message to Powell read: “Jerome – You are, as usual, ‘too late.’ You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so – You should lower the rate – by a lot! Hundreds of billions of dollars being lost! No inflation.” The note bore Trump’s signature at the bottom, maintaining his characteristic style of using capital letters and exclamation marks.
Leavitt declared during the briefing that she was bringing “original correspondence from the President of the United States to our Fed Chair Jerome Powell.” She emphasized that Trump was a businessman first who understands economic policy, defending his approach as a proven formula that worked during his first term.
The public display of the handwritten note represents the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing conflict with Powell over monetary policy. The President has consistently criticized the Federal Reserve chair for maintaining higher interest rates, calling him nicknames including “Mr. Too Late” and describing him as a “bad person” in a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday.
Trump’s frustration stems from the Fed’s decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for the fourth consecutive meeting. The President has argued that the U.S. should have interest rates of one percent or better, pointing to countries like Switzerland that maintain much lower rates. He has claimed that Powell’s policies are costing the country hundreds of billions of dollars in lost savings on interest costs.
The Federal Reserve has maintained its cautious approach due to concerns about potential inflation impacts from Trump’s sweeping tariff policies. Powell indicated last week that the Fed expects tariff inflation to show up more in coming months, noting that officials don’t know how much of that cost will be passed through to consumers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emerged as a potential replacement for Powell when his term expires in May 2026. Bessent indicated that Trump is considering various options for sidelining Powell, including the possibility of appointing someone who would be considered the future Fed chair when another board member’s term expires in January.
The President has threatened to fire Powell outright, though legal experts and the Supreme Court have suggested such an action would likely be illegal. Powell has stated he would not resign if asked and has no intention of leaving before his term ends.
Trump’s criticism has intensified following recent positive inflation data for May, which showed only a slight increase despite concerns about his tariff policies. The President has argued that these numbers prove his economic approach is working and that Powell should respond by cutting rates immediately.
The handwritten note strategy mirrors Trump’s previous use of Sharpie markers for official communications, a practice that has drawn comparisons to informal messaging styles. Critics have described the latest note as resembling something from a high school drama, with some comparing it to scenes from the movie “Mean Girls.”
Powell has maintained that the Fed will continue to set monetary policy based on careful, objective analysis rather than political pressure. The central bank has stated that it will make decisions solely to support maximum employment and stable prices, as required by law.
The public nature of Trump’s latest pressure campaign represents an unprecedented approach to influencing Federal Reserve policy. Previous presidents have typically maintained more private communications with Fed chairs, respecting the central bank’s independence in monetary policy decisions.
