Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday echoed President Donald Trump’s calls for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
“The president has been saying this for a while, but it’s even more clear: the refusal by the Fed to cut rates is monetary malpractice,” Vance wrote in a post on X.
Trump on Wednesday repeated his prior call for the U.S. central bank cut interest rates by a full point.
“CPI JUST OUT. GREAT NUMBERS! FED SHOULD LOWER ONE FULL POINT. WOULD PAY MUCH LESS INTEREST ON DEBT COMING DUE. SO IMPORTANT!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
INFLATION INCREASED SLIGHTLY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS IN MAY
The two posts came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest consumer price index data Wednesday morning that showed inflation in May was cooler than analysts expected.
The CPI rose 0.1% in May compared to the prior month, while it was up 2.4% on an annual basis. Those figures were slightly cooler than the estimates of economists polled by LSEG, while the annual CPI ticked up from 2.3% a month ago.
FED SAW INFLATION, JOBLESS, STABILITY RISKS AT MAY MEETING, MINUTES SHOW
So-called core prices, which exclude more volatile measurements of gasoline and food to better assess price growth trends, were up 0.1% from the prior month and 2.8% on an annual basis, both below economists’ estimates of 0.3% and 2.9%, respectively.
Trump most recently called on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates last week.
“‘Too Late’ at the Fed is a disaster!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!”
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Trump posted those comments after the release of the Labor Department’s May employment report, which showed the U.S. economy added 139,000 jobs in the month. The figure was stronger than the estimate of economists polled by LSEG, which projected a gain of 130,000 jobs, but cooler than the revised increase of 147,000 jobs added in April.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report
