President Donald Trump on Thursday escalated his long-running attack on the Federal Reserve by lashing out repeatedly at the head of the nation’s central bank, Jerome Powell, for not doing enough to fortify the economy as the effects of tariffs take hold.

Trump has long sought to exert control over the politically independent Fed, often denouncing Powell for keeping interest rates too high for his liking. In an early morning social media post that ricocheted around Washington, Wall Street and beyond, Trump reprised those attacks, saying, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

Trump’s broadside arrived a day after Powell warned in a speech that the president’s tariffs could create a “challenging scenario” by putting the Fed’s two main goals — stable inflation and a healthy labor market — in tension.

The Fed chair has maintained that the nation’s central bank must be patient on interest rates — one of the main tools the central bank has to help steer the economy — as it assesses the full impact of the president’s policies on prices. Powell emphasized Wednesday that the Fed wanted to ensure that any temporary rise in inflation from tariffs does not become a more persistent problem.

The president has been pushing for Powell to cut rates since returning to the White House. The Fed last lowered rates in December and held them steady for two consecutive meetings this year.

On Thursday, Trump referred to the European Central Bank, which has been steadily cutting rates, suggesting that the Fed should do the same.

“The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ ” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

Trump’s call for lower interest rates comes amid turbulence in financial markets. His tariff policies have rattled the bond market in particular, with the yields on Treasury bonds rising so sharply at one point that it prompted the president to back off and put a 90-day pause on many tariffs.

Presidents have long sought to put pressure on central bank officials, but the fear across Wall Street and Washington is that Trump will seek to undermine the central bank’s independence in a more significant way.

The top concern is that he will try to remove Powell from his leadership position before his term as chair expires in May 2026. Trump has already signed an executive order trying to seize more control over the central bank’s responsibilities related to bank regulation. (The order exempted the Fed’s decisions on interest rates.)