Washington DC - During a speech on Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested that he might fire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if the Federal Reserve doesn't cut interest rates soon.

"Scott, you gotta work on this guy... The only thing Scott's blowing it on is the Fed," Trump said with a smirk. "The rates are too high, Scott. If you don't get it fixed fast, I'm going to fire your ass."

His comments came during a speech given to business leaders and officials from Saudi Arabia at the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday.

"I can't tell you, Scott, 'Sir, don't fire him,' yeah, Scott, 'Sir, please don't fire him, he's got three months to go, don't fire him,'" Trump said, referring to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

"He's the voice of reason – you're very lucky you have him, I'll tell you that, he's done a good job," he continued.

Trump's criticisms are the latest in a series of attacks he has waged against Powell since he came to office in January. His repeated threats serve to undermine the Fed's independence from politics.

Decisions taken by the Fed under Powell to hold firm on interest rates in an attempt to keep the economy stable and control inflation have courted massive criticism from Trump, who continues to insist that rates should be cut.

The Trump administration has also found itself in a legal battle with Fed Governor Lisa Cook, whom it attempted to fire in August.

Trump wants to follow a similar route with Powell and has, on multiple occasions, threatened to fire him. He doesn't have the authority to do this, however, because of the Fed's independence.