Trump targets rate cuts with Fed board majority

August 27, 2025 (MLN): President Donald Trump said he will soon secure a majority of his nominees on the Federal Reserve board of governors to back his push for lower interest rates, hours after taking the unprecedented step of moving to fire Governor Lisa Cook.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Trump noted he has already appointed two of the Fed board’s seven governors and is poised to add another following the retirement of Adriana Kugler earlier this summer.

He has selected top economic advisor Stephen Miran to serve out the remainder of Kugler’s term, which ends Jan. 31, 2026.

“We’ll have a majority very shortly,” Trump said.

He further mentioned that, so that’ll be great. Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing, and it’s going to be great. People are paying too high an interest rate.

That’s the only problem with us. We have to get the rates down a little bit, he added.

Asked about a replacement for Cook, Trump said, “Well, we have some very good people for that position, and I think we have some very good people we’re down to.

 I think I maybe, in my own mind, have somebody that I like.”

Trump again criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell, saying “Because of him and his high interest rates, the housing is less than it could be. We’re going to get that straightened out very quickly.”

The president’s decision to fire Cook came in a letter issued Monday night, citing a Department of Justice investigation into her mortgages, as CNBC reported.

Cook plans to file a lawsuit to block her ouster, her attorney said Tuesday.

In a statement released during Trump’s Cabinet meeting, the Fed said Cook will ask the courts to confirm her ability to continue serving as governor.

The central bank said it will abide by any court decision.

It noted that “long tenures and removal protections for governors serve as a vital safeguard, ensuring that monetary policy decisions are based on data, economic analysis, and the long-term interests of the American people.”

When pressed on the Fed’s response, Trump replied, “I’d abide by the court.”

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that Trump “exercised his lawful authority to remove a governor on the federal board of governors for cause.”

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