Trump Meets Powell in Person, Demands Rate Cuts and Claims Positive Progress in EU Talks

TradingKey - According to the White House’s official daily schedule, President Donald Trump will visit the Federal Reserve headquarters at 4:00 p.m. local time on Thursday. The trip is briefly listed as a “President’s visit to the Federal Reserve,” with no details provided on the agenda or whether Trump will meet with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. As of now, the Fed has not commented on the visit.

The visit comes amid heightened political controversy over the central bank’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project. Several senior Trump administration officials — including Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget; James Blair, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency — have previously demanded on-site inspections of the project, citing concerns over spending and management.

The renovation of the Fed’s two main office buildings in Washington’s Foggy Bottom district is fully funded by the central bank’s own earnings and does not involve taxpayer money.

Nonetheless, the project has recently been turned into a political weapon by the White House. Trump and his allies have accused the Fed of wasteful spending and poor oversight, suggesting that cost overruns could serve as justification for removing Powell from office.

For months, Powell has faced intense political pressure for maintaining higher interest rates and resisting Trump’s demand for rapid rate cuts.

Trump has publicly criticized him for “raising too fast and cutting too slowly,” and at one point hinted at firing him before the end of his term in May 2026. However, his tone has recently shifted — while still pressuring Powell, he now suggests he does not intend to remove him, but instead expects him to resign on his own.

Trump’s planned visit to the Fed’s headquarters is widely seen as another public challenge to the central bank’s independence. At a sensitive moment ahead of the election, this “inspection” appears on the surface to be about construction oversight, but in reality represents a direct challenge to the Fed’s autonomy and its monetary policy decisions.

Did the House Move First Before Trump’s Visit?

Media reports indicate that on the morning of Thursday, July 24 (U.S. Eastern Time), a U.S. House committee launched an investigation into the Federal Reserve’s building renovation project — just hours before Trump’s scheduled arrival.

Trump Ally Sues Powell — Demands FOMC Meetings Be Held in Public

Trump ally and founder of Azoria Capital, James Fishback, filed a lawsuit against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday local time.

In the complaint, Fishback argued that persistently high interest rates are undermining both former President Trump’s economic agenda and the broader U.S. economy.

The suit calls for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to hold its upcoming monetary policy meeting on July 29–30 in public, asserting that closed-door sessions violate federal transparency laws.

Trump Meets Powell in Person, Demands Rate Cuts and Claims Positive Progress in EU Talks

On July 24 (U.S. Eastern Time), President Donald Trump arrived at the Federal Reserve headquarters, where he stated that the ongoing negotiations with the European Union are progressing well.

He publicly reiterated his call for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, adding that he will be closely watching the Federal Open Market Committee’s upcoming interest rate decision.

Real-time updates continue to unfold