Trump Still Backs Warsh but Demands 1% Rates Hours After the Fed's First Hike in Years

President Trump said US interest rates should be 1% or less hours after the Federal Reserve raised them, and that he still has confidence in Chair Kevin Warsh.

The comments came as a Truth Social post plus later press remarks on 16 September 2026, Quartz reported. They are not an executive order the Fed has to obey.

The Federal Open Market Committee had just voted unanimously to raise the federal funds target range by a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.0%, the first hike since 2023 under Warsh and the same move already covered as the first Fed raise in three years. Trump wrote that the United States is "the Best Credit in the World" and demanded the cut "FAST."

Speaking later, Trump told reporters he is relying on Warsh but that Warsh has "a very tough board." He told Warsh, "You might as well vote with the board. It's not going to matter." Trump called the committee hostile and political. Asked if Warsh had acted on his direction, he said he wanted Warsh to be independent.

White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News that Trump "absolutely" supports Fed independence while reserving a right to criticize "when things go awry." That White House line sits next to the 1% demand. The two messages do not match.

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