President Donald Trump attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for not cutting interest rates and said he could fire him if he wanted to, renewing a threat from his first term that could cause a major legal showdown over the issue of the central bank바카라s long-standing political independence.
바카라If I want him out, he바카라ll be out of there real fast, believe me,바카라 Trump said in the Oval Office while taking questions from reporters during a visit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. 바카라I바카라m not happy with him.바카라
Trump바카라s comments followed a posting on his social media site in which the Republican president called on Powell to lower the Fed바카라s short-term interest rate and said, 바카라Powell바카라s termination cannot come fast enough!바카라 The Fed chair바카라s term ends in May 2026.
Powell was initially nominated by Trump in 2017 and was appointed to another four-year term by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022. At a November news conference, Powell indicated he would not step down if Trump asked him to resign and, in remarks Wednesday, made clear that 바카라our independence is a matter of law.바카라 He added: 바카라We바카라re not removable except for cause. We serve very long terms, seemingly endless terms.바카라
Trump바카라s criticism stems from his view that, as he said Thursday, 바카라we have essentially no inflation.바카라 The Fed sharply raised rates in 2022 and 2023 to slow borrowing and spending and tame inflation, which dropped steadily from a peak of 9.1% in 2022 to 2.4% last month. Inflation is not far from the Fed바카라s target of 2%. The Fed even cut rates three times at the end of last year.
But since then, Powell and most other Fed policymakers have underscored that they are keeping rates on hold because of the uncertainty created by Trump바카라s sweeping tariffs, including a 10% tax on all imports and a 145% levy on imports from China.
In remarks Wednesday in Chicago, Powell reiterated that the Fed was waiting for greater clarity before making any moves and said the tariffs would likely worsen inflation.
Powell has steadfastly maintained that the Fed is independent from politics, a stance that Fed chairs have stressed since at least the 1970s. Back then, the Fed was widely seen as worsening a 15-year run of high inflation by giving in to demands from President Richard Nixon to keep interest rates low in the run-up to the 1972 election.
Economic research has suggested an independent central bank is more likely to keep inflation in check because it is more willing to do unpopular things, such as lift interest rates, to fight rising prices. Wall Street investors also largely prefer an independent Fed, though the stock market did not appear to react to Trump바카라s comments.
Powell said Wednesday that the Fed will base its decisions solely on what바카라s best for all Americans.
바카라That바카라s the only thing we바카라re ever going to do,바카라 Powell said. 바카라We바카라re never going to be influenced by any political pressure.바카라
He also suggested that the central bank will focus on fighting inflation in the wake of the tariffs, which would likely mean they would keep rates elevated.
Trump complained that interest rates are still rising 바카라because we have a Federal Reserve chairman that is playing politics.바카라 Yet longer-term rates rose after Trump announced his trade penalties.
