Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The current Federal Reserve interest rate is significantly higher than necessary and should be lowered, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve's current lending rate for banks is between 4.25% and 4.5%, but Bessent said it should be between 1.5% and 1.75% lower, The Hill reported.

"We could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis point rate cut in September," Bessent told Bloomberg TV .

Such a rate cut would lower the Fed's lending rate by a half percent, which Bessent said is just a start.

"If you look at any model, we should probably be 150 [to] 175 basis points lower," he added. "I think the committee needs to step back."

Bessent supports President Donald Trump 's criticism of the Federal Reserve's decisi

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