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While Trump has sought to pressure the Fed to cut rates, consumer rates on mortgages and other loans are determined by a range of factors largely outside the president&rsquo s control
 

WASHINGTON &mdash As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to relieve consumers of high interest rates. As president, doing so will likely be a slow process largely outside of his control.

Trump repeatedly said during the campaign that he would bring down interest rates without elaborating on how. He has suggested the president should have a say in determining rates set by the Federal Reserve and publicly berated the central bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for not lowering rates sooner.

But while Trump has put a lot of emphasis on the Federal Reserve as a way to reduce the interest paid by consumers or businesses, the rates on mortgages and other longer-term loans are outside of any one person&rsquo s or institution&rsquo s control. Instead, those rates are largely determined by the bond market, where investors are looking at a range of long-term risks, like the likelihood of high inflation returning, prospects for economic growth and the United States&rsquo ability to pay back its debts in the decades to come.

&ldquo I think macro trends are way more important,&rdquo said Kent Smetters, a professor of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. &ldquo I just don&rsquo t think the Federal Reserve has a lot of control like they used to.&rdquo

The Federal Reserve plays a part in influencing interest rates by setting the amount that banks have to pay short term to borrow money from each other in order to carry out their daily business. That amount can trickle down to how much lenders then charge consumers for a loan, but it isn&rsquo t always the case.

Mortgage rates  rose  after the Federal Reserve cut  rates  in September for the first time since the pandemic, and despite the Fed cutting rates again on Nov. 7, mortgage rates are expected to continue to rise in the coming days based on the trends in the bond market, said Ralph McLaughlin, senior economist for Realtor.com.

&ldquo The idea that the president can directly influence the Fed rate is a little unrealistic, but the broader policies, or expectations of policies, have a much more direct effect,&rdquo   said McLaughlin.

Trump has no direct control over the interest rates set by the Federal Reserve, which is determined by a  committee  that includes seven members appointed to 14-year terms along with five regional Reserve Bank presidents. Under the current law, the president  can&rsquo t fire  Powell or any member of the Fed&rsquo s Board of Governors without &ldquo cause,&rdquo so removing any of those members because of a disagreement over interest rates would be challenged in court.

Trump has previously tried to influence the Fed with his rhetoric. During his first term, Trump said Powell, whom he appointed in 2018, was a bigger enemy to America than China&rsquo s President Xi Jinping and posted on Twitter that Powell had a &ldquo horrendous lack of vision&rdquo and &ldquo no &lsquo guts,&rsquo no sense, no vision!&rdquo

Powell said during remarks on Nov. 7 that if Trump asked him to resign, he wouldn&rsquo t do so, and that it wasn&rsquo t permitted under the law for Trump to fire him or any members of the Federal Reserve board.

While Trump has acknowledged that he likely doesn&rsquo t have the power to set rates or fire Powell, he&rsquo s indicated he isn&rsquo t going to stop voicing his views on what the Fed should be doing.