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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was “highly unlikely” to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a public statement made less than 24 hours after suggesting in a private meeting that he was leaning in favor of dismissing the head of the nation’s central bank.
Trump confirmed that in a White House meeting Tuesday night with about a dozen House Republicans he had discussed the “concept” of dismissing Powell, long a target because of his refusal to lower interest rates as Trump wants.
“Almost every one of them said I should,” Trump said about the lawmakers who had come to talk to him about crypto legislation.
He indicated he was leaning in that direction, according to a White House official. During that session, Trump waved a letter about firing Powell, but a person familiar with the matter said it was essentially a prop drafted by someone else and that the Republican president has not drafted such a letter.
Neither source was authorized to publicly discuss the private meeting and they spoke only on condition on anonymity.
Trump made his comment about being “highly unlikely” to dismiss Powell—”unless he has to leave for fraud”—during an Oval Office meeting with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain.
In recent days, White House and administration officials have accused Powell of mismanaging a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Fed, adding to months of efforts by Trump try to rid himself of the politically independent central banker.
U.S. stocks were shaky as Trump spoke about Powell on Wednesday. The S&P 500’s modest gain in the morning became a drop of 0.7% after initial reports that the president may fire the Fed chair. Stocks then trimmed their losses after Trump’s later comment.
Treasury yields also swiveled in the bond market but remained mostly calm.
Those at the White House meeting were among the more far-right lawmakers, including members of the House Freedom Cause whose views are not always shared by other Republicans. In the Senate, Republicans have taken a more guarded approach. Some have backed Powell’s performance at the Fed as they await an inspector general’s review of the construction project.
In a speech Wednesday, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said if Powell is dismissed, “you are going to see a pretty immediate response”
“If anybody thinks it would be a good idea for the Fed to become another agency in the government subject to the president, they’re making a huge mistake,” said Tillis, who has announced that he is not running for reelection.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said this week that Powell “has done a decent job.”
“I don’t think he’s been perfect,” he said, adding that there have been times they disagreed, but “I do believe that the chairman is calling them like he sees them.”
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee had been scheduled to meet with Powell on Wednesday evening in a gathering set months ago, but it was abruptly canceled due to votes in the House, according to a committee aide granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
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The Fed being independent is one of the very few aspects of government that actually works. Trump couldn’t give a 2 minute elevator pitch on macroeconomics if his life depended on it.
Maggot voters, give yourself a (slow) clap
+ 1
+2
-5 someone wants to tank our economy because they don’t like trump
Lmfao Brian, learn how Fed interest rates and the economy are linked, because it’s not the way you think it is. Dropping rates now would lead to significantly higher inflation (which is what Trump wants, he’s just trying to do it in a way where he can pin the blame on someone else).
The uber-wealthy in charge of the Republican Party are mad that the economy isn’t crashing fast enough. They want their money and to buy up assets for pennies on the dollar, and they want to do it now.
And they want to be able to borrow cheap money to do it…
Big mistake!
Yes – the country with the lowest inflationary numbers and some of the lowest employment should punish one of the few people who are responsible from us going into a black tailspin of a recession
I love the social media society where people watch a 20 second clip on ChinaTok and now have a full grasp of microeconomics and how our society functions
He knows that firing Powell would tank the dollar and drive foreign banks away from buying US debt, which is necessary to fund his Big Beautiful Bill.
Legally the president cannot fire the Federal Reserve position. 2026 is when the term ends.
I’m a middle class retired guy. I’m afraid to invest in the market. In my opinion, if the rates goes down so do my earnings.
Worse than that, it will be a tactic for sales people to push big purchases to those who will panic to buy big tickets that they won’t be able to pay for later.
Credit card companies are already enticing buyers to stretch 100$ purchases at no interest. If they miss a payment, BOOM! Retro interest. There’s more but I won’t bore you.
You really are missing out. Regardless of who’s been president for the past 20 years, my retirement funds have gained multiples of bond or CD interest. Yes, there have been a few down years mixed in, but overall it’s exactly as Warren Buffett preaches:
As long as 47 doesn’t screw things up any more than he already has, the US economy and markets are the strongest and safest investments in the world.