JAKARTA – The Federal Reserve (The Fed) has faced criticism from former US President Donald Trump after deciding to maintain the Federal Funds Rate (FFR) within the range of 4.25% to 4.5%.

The criticism was posted by Trump on his Truth Social account, the social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group, just hours after the Fed’s announcement on Wednesday (29/1) or early Thursday morning Indonesian time. "The Fed is doing a terrible job with Bank Regulation," Trump wrote.

In addition, Trump accused the Fed of focusing solely on climate change, diversity, gender equality, and inclusion. "If the Fed spent less time talking about DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), gender ideology, green energy, and climate change, inflation would never have been a problem," Trump asserted.

It’s worth noting that last week, Trump also stated that interest rates needed to be lowered immediately.

Meanwhile, Jerome Powell, Chair of the Fed, emphasised the importance of keeping the central bank independent from external influence. Similar views were expressed by Scott Bessent, the newly confirmed US Treasury Secretary. (KR/ZH)