Trump says he wants interest rate cut to 1%, would 'love' if Powell resigned

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would "love" if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were to resign, and the president also said he wanted interest rates cut to 1%.

KEY QUOTES

"I'd love him to resign if he wanted to, he's done a lousy job," Trump said, also labeling the Fed chair as "stupid."

"I think we should be paying 1% right now, and we're paying more because we have a guy who suffers from, I think, Trump Derangement Syndrome," Trump added.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Trump has long attacked the Federal Reserve chair over interest rates that the U.S. president wants lowered. Fed chairs have long been seen as insulated from presidential dismissal for reasons other than malfeasance or misconduct, but Trump has threatened to test that legal premise with frequent threats to fire Powell.

Powell's term ends in May 2026, and Trump is expected to nominate a successor in the coming months.

CONTEXT

Trump said he will name as successor to Powell someone who will lower rates.

Last week, the Fed decided to leave short-term borrowing costs in the 4.25%-4.50% range. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Kanishka Singh in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)