United States President Donald Trump has demanded interest rates be cut to 1 per cent after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Thursday for the first time since 2023.
The Fed voted unanimously to raise rates by 0.25 percentage points, saying the rate hike would support a "timelier return" to its two-per cent target for inflation.
In his first decision, the opposite was done.
Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to speak out against the rise, saying rates should be less than 1 per cent and that the US could no longer "carry" other countries.
"Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR," Trump wrote on Thursday morning.
Warsh stressed the need to combat inflation that has been "too high" for "too long" and said the decision was a "serious" one, but needed to be taken.
US households and businesses have been affected by years of higher-than-target inflation, and prices have surged in the wake of Trump's war on Iran, his signature tariff policies and the ongoing AI boom.
Trump has launched an assault on the Fed's independence since taking office, trying to fire a Fed governor and launching a criminal probe against Warsh's predecessor in his quest for lower rates to spur economic activity.
Yields on 10-year US Treasury bonds were also up past the five-per cent threshold.
Following the Fed's announcement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the decision was "rather unfortunate" and that Trump had been clear that he wanted lower interest rates.