US Treasury Secretary urges Fed to cut rates by 50 bps in September

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Federal Reserve should be open to a larger interest rate cut of 50 basis points (bps) next month.

“The real thing now to think about is should we get a 50 basis-point rate cut in September,” Bessent told Fox Business in an interview on Tuesday.

He noted that two days after the Fed left rates unchanged at its last meeting on June 30, a weak monthly jobs report was released, showing downward revisions for May and June compared with the previous official figures.

Bessent added that the Fed could have cut rates in June and July had it had the revised data at the time.

He also expressed optimism that Trump’s nominee for the current vacancy on the Fed’s board, Stephen Miran, would take up his post in time for the next policy meeting on Sept. 16-17.