President Trump lashed out at JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon on Tuesday, flatly dismissing the Wall Street titan as “wrong” for warning that the Justice Department’s criminal probe of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell threatens the central bank’s independence.
“I think he’s wrong,” Trump said when asked about Dimon’s criticism, defending the Justice Department’s investigation and insisting his administration was not undermining the Federal Reserve, even as the probe has sparked market turmoil and drawn bipartisan backlash.
“I think it’s fine what I’m doing. And we have a bad Fed person,” the president said.
Trump doubled down on his attacks against Powell, arguing that interest rates should be sharply lower and suggesting Dimon’s defense of the Fed was driven by self-interest.
“We should have lower interest rates,” Trump said during remarks Tuesday, adding that Dimon “probably wants higher rates” and suggesting the JPMorgan chief executive benefits from elevated borrowing costs.
Dimon, the head of the nation’s largest bank, had warned earlier that any move that chips away at the Fed’s independence could backfire, raising inflation expectations and ultimately pushing interest rates higher.
“Everyone we know believes in Fed independence,” Dimon told reporters Tuesday.
“Anything that chips away at that is probably not a good idea. In my view, it will have the reverse consequences. It will probably raise inflation expectations and probably increase rates over time.”
Trump also said he would press ahead with plans to name Powell’s replacement within weeks, despite the backlash to the probe from Wall Street executives and Republican lawmakers.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who sits on the powerful Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to block any new Federal Reserve nominees until the investigation is resolved.
Other executives echoed Dimon’s concerns, warning that threatening the Fed’s autonomy could rattle bond markets and undermine confidence, with Bank of New York Mellon CEO Robin Vince cautioning that political pressure on the central bank risks pushing interest rates higher rather than lower.
“Independent central banks with the ability to independently set monetary policy in the long-term interests of the nation is a pretty well-established thing that we’ve seen all around the world over a very long period of time,” Vince told reporters Tuesday.
“Let’s not shake the foundation of the bond market and potentially do something that could cause interest rates to actually get pushed up because somehow there’s lack of confidence in the Fed’s independence.”
Other Wall Street big shots echoed the sentiment.
“The attempt to kill the Fed’s independence by criminal investigation is not good for that institution, and maybe even worse for the Justice Department,” former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein wrote on X.
“Feels like an attempt at murder-suicide.”
The Justice Department investigation centers on Powell’s June testimony to Congress about the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington headquarters, including whether he misled lawmakers about the project’s scope and cost.
Prosecutors have reviewed Powell’s public statements and internal Fed spending records after Republicans accused him of downplaying luxury features that appeared in earlier planning documents.
Powell has forcefully rejected the allegations, confirming that the Fed was served with grand jury subpoenas and calling the probe “unprecedented.”
He has said the renovation is funded entirely by the central bank, not taxpayers, and warned the investigation threatens the Fed’s ability to set interest rates free from political pressure.
Trump, who nominated Powell during his first term, has defended the probe as a matter of accountability, accusing the Fed chair of incompetence and insisting the investigation has nothing to do with monetary policy.
JPMorgan has declined to comment.
