US President Donald Trump wasted no time attacking the Federal Reserve after the central bank’s first US rate hike since 2023, announced on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
This time, however, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was not the target — Trump went out of his way to reaffirm his confidence in him.
Instead, Trump directed his attack at the entire monetary policy committee, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Trump stands by Warsh, but attacks the whole FOMC
Asked by reporters whether he still trusted Warsh after the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points to a new range of 3.75%-4%, Trump said yes — then turned on the board responsible for the decision:
«I trust Kevin, but you see, he operates within a very difficult committee, he has a board that was put there by other people. And I told him, I spoke with Kevin and told him: ’You might as well just vote along with the board. It won’t make any difference.’»
Trump added that «the committee is very hostile, very politicized, and is doing the wrong thing,» in the sense that it is «raising rates to make things go as badly as possible for Trump.»
Trump to the Fed: rates should be 1% or lower. Cut them fast!
The US president made the comments to reporters before heading to a campaign rally in support of Michael Whatley, the Republican Senate candidate, ahead of the upcoming midterm elections for Congress.
Trump also issued a direct appeal to the Fed on his Truth Social platform, writing in capital letters: “LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST!”
In the same post, the president wrote that «interest rates in the United States should be 1%, or even lower, because we are by far the country with the best credit rating in the world.»
The day before, the Federal Reserve had raised the fed funds rate, citing a US inflation trend that, in Warsh’s own words, is «too high.»
Trump revives threat to cut off trade with deficit countries
The president went on to note that the United States is experiencing «a full BOOM thanks to new investment!», before reviving his threat to cut off trade with every country the US runs a trade deficit with:
«If we stopped trading with all the countries we have a trade deficit with, which is most of them, we would earn at least $1.5 trillion a year.»
He added: «The word ’deficit’ is just a fancy term for ’loss.’»
Trump doubled down in the same Truth Social post, writing that the US is «’supporting’ almost every country in the world, something that cannot go on much longer.»
Dollar, euro and yen react as markets await the BoE and BoJ
Wall Street and Treasuries reacted negatively to the US rate hike, while the dollar rallied against the euro, hitting a seven-week high, with EUR/USD sliding to $1.1456.
Traders are also watching the dollar against the pound, ahead of the Bank of England’s rate announcement due later the same day, and the dollar against the yen, on the eve of the Bank of Japan’s own rate decision.
The yen slipped toward its lowest level in two weeks against the dollar in the immediate aftermath of the Fed announcement, before recovering ground; USD/JPY was last down about 0.30%, at 155.75.
The euro also pared its losses, trading little changed at $1.1468, while GBP/USD was similarly flat, hovering around $1.3380.
Editor’s note
This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Laura Naka Antonelli on September 17, 2026 as «Rialzo tassi Fed, Trump a Warsh: «Dovrebbero essere dell’1% o più bassi, tagliateli in fretta». E rilancia la minaccia». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.
