Transition of power from
Transition of power
Transition of power
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Trump stated that he currently has no intentions of replacing the Federal Reserve Chair. When asked if he would attempt to remove the leader of the central bank, he responded by saying he does not foresee that happening.
Written by Jeanna Smialek
Donald J. Trump, who has been elected as President, mentioned that he does not intend to dismiss the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell. This statement aims to eliminate any doubts regarding the future of the independent central bank.
During the summer, President Trump mentioned that he had no intentions of dismissing Mr. Powell, unless he did not act in a way that Trump deemed appropriate, such as lowering interest rates. However, in a recent interview with NBC, Trump stated more firmly that he would consider firing Mr. Powell.
Trump expressed his belief that he would not remove Mr. Powell from his position as chair, even though he has the authority to do so. Trump suggested that if he directly instructed Powell to step down, Powell would comply, but if he simply asked him to, Powell may not.
Mr. Powell believes that the president does not have the legal power to fire him, a view shared by many legal experts, even though it has not been challenged in court. Additionally, Mr. Powell stated that he would not resign from his position if requested to do so.
Federal Reserve officials are separated from the influence of the White House, which grants them a certain degree of autonomy to make tough decisions in the short term, such as maintaining high interest rates, in order to benefit the overall health of the economy in the long run.
Initially, President Trump appointed Mr. Powell as the Fed chair in 2017, but soon became dissatisfied with him because he expected the Fed to decrease rates at a faster pace.
He considered the idea of either firing or demoting the Federal Reserve chair, but realized that it would be legally challenging, if not impossible. Instead, he chose to criticize the central bank and its leader on social media and in public statements, referring to Mr. Powell as an "enemy" and Fed officials as "boneheads."
In 2021, President Biden decided to nominate Mr. Powell again for another term as the leader. Mr. Powell is currently in the middle of a four-year term that started the following year.
Jeanna Smialek reports on the Federal Reserve and the economy for The Times while based in Washington. To learn more about Jeanna Smialek, visit her profile.
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