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   By Lucy Bayly 
   
   President Donald Trump renewed his attack on the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, accusing his own appointee, Chairman Jerome "Jay" Powell, of stunting the nation's economic growth. 
   
   "It almost looks like he's happy raising interest rates," said Trump in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published late Tuesday. 
   
   He also said he "maybe" regretted nominating Powell to the position, noting that "I have a hot economy going," and that "every time we do something great, he raises the interest rates." 
   
   The biggest risk to the economy was not tariffs, said Trump, nor an escalating trade war, nor punitive measures related to tensions with Saudi Arabia over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but rather the fact that the Fed is raising interest rates too quickly. 
   
   Trump compared his presidency to that of Barack Obama, taking care to point out that Obama operated with "zero interest" rates from the Fed, which held rates artificially low for almost a decade in order to allow the economy to grow after the 2008 recession. 
   
   “How the hell do you compete with that?" Trump noted. 
   
   The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by one-quarter point three times this year, with a fourth increase likely slated for December as monetary policymakers seek to temper credit demand. 
   
   Powell has made note of the Fed's precarious position as the economy heats up, saying in August that the Fed currently faces two main risks — either “moving too fast and needlessly shortening the expansion" or "moving too slowly and risking a destabilizing overheating." 
   
   Tuesday's attack marks the latest in the president's feud with the Fed. Last week, Trump lambasted the chairman, saying "I'm not happy with what he's doing because it's going too fast." 
   
   It used to be rare for a sitting president to comment on the Fed, which is supposed to remain immune to political pressure. Trump said last week that he had no intention of firing Powell, and there is no historical precedent for such action. 
   
   According to Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act it is technically possible, since "each member shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the term of his predecessor, unless sooner removed for cause by the President." ||||| President Trump has put the Federal Reserve at the middle of the latest drop in the markets, saying the "Fed has gone crazy." WSJ global economics editor Jon Hilsenrath explores three reasons why the Fed is raising interest rates. Photo: Getty Images. 
   
   WASHINGTON—President Trump escalated his attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, saying the head of the nation’s central bank threatened U.S. economic growth and appeared to enjoy raising interest rates. 
   
   In an interview Tuesday with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump acknowledged the independence the Fed has long enjoyed in setting... ||||| New York (CNN Business) For the third week in a row, President Donald Trump is criticizing Jerome Powell, the man he picked to lead the Federal Reserve. 
   
   In an interview Tuesday with The Wall Street Journal , Trump said that Powell raises interest rates "every time we do something great." 
   
   The Fed chair "almost looks like he's happy raising interest rates," the president said. He also told the newspaper that it was "too early to tell, but maybe" he regretted nominating Powell to the position. 
   
   The criticism echoes comments Trump made last week in an interview with Fox Business in which he said that the Fed is his "biggest threat." 
   
   Michelle Smith, a spokeswoman for the Fed, declined to comment on Trump's remarks Tuesday. 
   
   Presidents have for decades refrained from commenting on the Fed, a stance adopted to avoid compromising its independence — and its credibility with financial markets. 
   
   In the run-up to the midterms, Trump has pitched voters on his stewardship of the economy. He threw Washington into a frenzy this week by promising to introduce a fresh round of tax cuts before the midterms , expanding on last year's landmark tax reform. 
   
   But the president has lately expressed frustration with the Fed's gradual interest rate increases, designed to slow down the economy and prevent inflation from taking off — standard macroeconomic steps that Trump insists are undercutting his expansionary fiscal moves. 
   
   Earlier this month, as investors dumped stocks amid concerns over rising interest rates, Trump said the central bank was "going loco" and "out of control." 
   
   Obama comparison 
   
   Trump complained to the Journal on Tuesday that former President Barack Obama — who came into office amid the worst recession in decades — didn't have to deal with the burden of rising interest rates. 
   
   "I'm just saying this: I'm very unhappy with the Fed because Obama had zero interest rates," Trump told the paper. 
   
   After the financial crisis erupted in 2008, the Fed kept rates at historically low levels to revive the ailing economy. It started slowly raising rates again in 2015 as the economy regained strength under Obama, and has hiked them six times since Trump took office. Three of those increases were under Powell, a sitting Fed governor widely respected on Wall Street whom Trump chose to succeed Obama's pick, Janet Yellen. 
   
   Before he picked Powell, however, Trump teased the possibility of renominating Yellen , crediting her with helping boost the stock market. 
   
   As with other personnel changes, the president made his Fed pick something of a reality show, asking Fox anchor Lou Dobbs for his recommendation in a televised interview. (Dobbs endorsed Yellen.) 
   
   Yellen says Fed criticism is unwise 
   
   Economists have generally given Powell high marks on his performance, arguing the Fed is acting wisely by gradually returning monetary policy to normal levels after the worst recession in 75 years. 
   
   The central bank is trying to cool down the red-hot economy after Washington's debt-fueled tax cuts and spending surge. The rate hikes are also designed to give it room to provide support for the economy whenever the next downturn arrives. That's especially important because the federal government's soaring budget deficit could make it harder to borrow to fight a recession. 
   
   Yellen defended his performance in remarks last week at a mortgage bankers conference in Washington and suggested Trump should back off. 
   
   "I really think it is not a desirable thing for a president to comment so explicitly on Fed policy," she said. "Obviously, presidents can speak out if they choose to and give their opinions about policy, there's no law against that, but I don't think it's wise and I do think the Fed has a strong reputation for acting in an independent and non-political way and I would not like to see that reputation damaged." 
   
   That view was repeated the same week by Trump's former top economic adviser Gary Cohn — who was also once considered a candidate to chair the Fed under Trump. 
   
   When asked on CNBC if he thought the president should be weighing in, Cohn replied: "I don't think he should be making comments on any federal agency."
target: – Framing the state of the economy in personal terms, referring to "my numbers," President Trump blasted Fed chief Jerome Powell and the central bank itself in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Trump called the Fed the "biggest risk" to the economy, due to the three times it's raised interest rates this year; it will likely do so a fourth time in December. Trump lamented Powell "was supposed to be a low-interest-rate guy. It's turned out that he's not," adding that Powell "almost looks like he's happy" when he raises the rates. Trump also seemed irritated that during former President Obama's tenure in the White House, interest rates hovered near zero. The Journal explains the Fed has been increasing the benchmark rate as a move to control inflation and keep financial bubbles at bay. CNN, meanwhile, notes the "historically low" interest rates under Obama were needed to jump-start a post-recession economy. Still, Trump told the Journal that while it's "too early to say," he "maybe" isn't so sure he should have nominated Powell. "I don't know," he said when asked in what scenario he'd remove his Fed head, a move for which NBC News notes there's no precedent. "I'm just saying this: I'm very unhappy with the Fed." Both former Fed chief Janet Yellen and ex-Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn say the president should ease up on the central bank, traditionally an independent entity, per CNN. More from Trump's Journal interview here, including his take on his former attorney, Michael Cohen. (Cohen just made a big political move.)