President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday morning, calling for his “termination” for not dropping interest rates rapidly enough.

His remarks came one day after the central bank governor issued a harsh warning about the impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs on the economy.

In a social media tweet early Thursday morning, Trump slammed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, claiming that the US central bank is falling behind its European equivalent. Later Thursday morning, the European Central Bank announced that interest rates would be slashed for the seventh time in a year.

“Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Trump wrote. “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

Powell on Wednesday said the Trump administration has brought “very fundamental policy changes,” including his sweeping tariffs that are “significantly larger than anticipated.”

Powell was appointed Fed Chair by Trump in 2018 and reappointed by President Joe Biden in 2021. His current term concludes in May 2026.

Trump has often threatened to dismiss Powell from his position, and criticism of his Fed chief dates back to 2018, when Powell took over the world’s most powerful central bank.

The Fed hiked interest rates a few times that year, concerned that a historically tight employment market would drive up inflation. In 2019, Trump even described Powell as “the enemy.”

Trump told reporters in March 2020 that he had the “right to remove (Powell) as chairman” and that “he has, so far, made a lot of bad decisions, in my opinion,” after markets tanked due to the epidemic. He did, however, praise Powell for reducing interest rates to zero in order to avoid an economic disaster.

According to a July Bloomberg interview, Trump has stated that he will not reappoint Powell for a third term and will allow him to finish his term, “especially if I thought he was doing the right thing.”

Powell has stated unequivocally that dismissing a Fed chair is “not permitted under the law,” and that he wants to serve out the duration of his term.