President Trump said he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell even after calling him a “major loser.”
Mr. Trump said he “never did” have intentions of firing Mr. Powell and blamed the press for running with that story.
“I have no intention of firing him. I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,” Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday at the swearing-in ceremony for Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins.
“It’s a perfect time to lower interest rates. If he doesn’t, is it the end? No, it’s not. But it would be good timing,” the president said, adding it “could’ve taken place earlier.”
The Fed is an independent agency that is supposed to be free from direct political pressure. The president appoints a Fed chairman every four years, but does not have the authority to fire the chairman.
Recent news reports, however, speculated that Mr. Trump could test the limits of his power by firing Mr. Powell.
But Mr. Trump has recently criticized Mr. Powell for not lowering interest rates and implied he could dismiss him.
“If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” he said in the Oval Office while taking questions from reporters during a Thursday visit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
He continued his campaign against Mr. Powell on social media Monday.
“With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,” Mr. Trump said. “Europe has already ‘lowered’ seven times. Powell has always been ‘To Late,’ [sic] except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected. How did that work out?”
Mr. Powell said earlier this month that the economic impacts of the tariffs “will include higher inflation and slower growth.”
“The new administration is in the process of implementing substantial policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy and regulation,” he said. “Our monetary policy stance is well-positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties we face as we gain a better understanding of the policy changes and their likely effects on the economy.”
He said the Fed will “wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” like rate cuts.
