Under President Trump, core inflation continues to come in below expectations -- with June marking the fifth consecutive month of better-than-forecast results. From vehicles to groceries, key prices are holding steady or falling, confirming that inflation is right on track.
Key Details:
Headline inflation rose just 0.1% in June, with the annual rate at 2.7% -- both numbers showing price stability as the trend continues to improve.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2% -- below the 0.3% economists predicted. Year-over-year, core inflation held steady at 2.9%, reinforcing the consistent progress made under President Trump.
New vehicle prices declined 0.3% in June, and used car prices dropped 0.7%. Apparel prices rose for the first time in months, but men's and children's clothing costs fell. Shoe prices and household furnishings saw modest increases, showing strength in domestic demand.
Diving Deeper:
For the fifth month in a row, inflation under President Donald J. Trump came in cooler than economists expected -- a clear sign that the White House's pro-growth, pro-stability agenda is working. June's Consumer Price Index showed a modest 0.1% rise from the prior month, and an annual increase of 2.7%, slightly above projections but still a sharp departure from the runaway inflation seen under Joe Biden.
The bigger story came from core inflation. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy categories, rose just 0.2% in June -- under the 0.3% forecast -- and remained at 2.9% year-over-year. Since President Trump returned to office, core inflation has stayed consistently below expectations, helping drive real wage growth and boost consumer confidence.
Rapid Response 47
@RapidResponse47
.@PressSec: "Every month since @POTUS
took office, core inflation--the best measure of inflation--has beat or matched expectations. The data proves that @POTUS
is stabilizing inflation and the Panicans continue to be wrong about tariffs raising prices."
So the media did not cover inflation under Biden for four years, covered it intensely for the first few months of Trump's Restoration with snarky "I thought Trump said he'd lower prices on day one" hit pieces, then stopped covering inflation when Trump's policies reduced inflation to just above the 2% target rate, and now are back to covering it again, for at least this month, because it ticked up 0.1%.
Got it.
Regime hack Jerome Powell cut interest rates just before the election to boost Biden, and refused to raise interest rates throughout most of Biden's reign of inflation. He never cautioned Biden on his massive overspending or linked it to inflation.
But now that a president he doesn't like is in the White House, he's claiming he can't ever cut interest rates, because Trump's tariffs may, one day, possibly, cause price increases in the future.
People are now calling for "regime change" at the Fed.
Former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh, considered to be a top contender to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, said the central bank needs "regime change."
"I think what we need is regime change at the Fed," Warsh told Maria Bartiromo in an interview on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures that aired on Sunday. "And that's not just about the chairman, it's about a whole range of people, it's about changing their mindset and their models, and frankly it's about breaking some heads, because the way they've been doing business is not working."
President Trump has been openly critical of Powell and has called on the central bank to cut interest rates, with no success. Fed officials have taken a cautious approach to rates in the face of mild inflation data.
...
Asked about whether Trump has the authority to fire Powell, Kevin Hassett, a top Trump economic advisor, told ABC's This Week that right now it's an issue "that's being looked into. But certainly, if there's cause, he does."
A Republican Congressman also called for Powell's resignation.
Arizona Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh on Monday called for the resignation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, citing a pattern of "gross mismanagement" and policy failures. In a public letter shared on X, Hamadeh accused Powell of dragging down the economy by refusing to cut interest rates.
Key Details:
In a letter posted to X, Rep. Hamadeh criticized Powell for what he described as "gross mismanagement" of the Federal Reserve's headquarters renovation project and a failure to act in the country's economic interest.
Hamadeh also took aim at Powell's public comments on tariffs and accused him of showing "a lack of candor" while ignoring the need for timely interest rate cuts.
The criticism follows public comments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Chairman William Pulte, who said he was "encouraged" by reports of Powell's potential resignation, calling it "the right decision for America."
Trump is searching for a replacement for Powell when his term is up... or maybe before his term is up.
The Trump administration has taken its clearest step yet toward reshaping the Federal Reserve, launching a formal search for who will take over from Jerome Powell when his term ends -- or possibly before. Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "There are a lot of great candidates and we'll see how rapidly it progresses. It's President Trump's decision and it will move at his speed."
Bessent, who is among the top contenders alongside former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and NEC Director Kevin Hassett, dismissed speculation that the administration would install a "shadow" Fed chair in advance of Powell's departure. "It would be very confusing for the market," he noted, suggesting the White House is focused on an orderly, albeit early, transition.