Trump calls on ‘Too Late’ Powell to lower interest rates after dismal ADP jobs report

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates after ADP reported weak jobs data.

“ADP NUMBER OUT!!! ‘Too Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Companies in the private sector added just 37,000 jobs in May, payroll processing firm ADP said Wednesday.

PRIVATE SECTOR ADDED JUST 37,000 JOBS IN MAY, LOWEST IN OVER 2 YEARS, ADP SAYS

The figure is well below economists’ estimates of 110,000 jobs and down from the prior month’s revised reading of 60,000. It was the lowest since March 2023.

“Unease is the word of the day. Employers are trying to reconcile policy and consumer uncertainty with a run of mostly positive economic data,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. “It can be difficult to make hiring decisions in such an environment.”

The president most recently criticized Powell in mid-May, suggesting that the Fed chair is behind the curve in lowering interest rates compared with America’s peers.

Trump and Powell met on Thursday at the White House for the first time in the president’s second term, though the two did not discuss monetary policy.

“Chair Powell did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” the central bank said in a statement.