politics
Trump threatens to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell amid pressure campaign
US president says he has ‘held back’ on firing the head of the Federal Reserve leading up to end of Powell’s term in May
TL;DR
- Donald Trump threatened to fire Jerome Powell if he does not leave his post as US Federal Reserve chair by the end of his term.
- Trump has repeatedly stated Powell is doing a "bad job" and should lower interest rates.
- Trump's preferred nominee for Fed chair is Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor critical of high interest rates.
- Senator Thom Tillis plans to block Warsh's nomination until a criminal investigation into Powell over Fed renovations is resolved.
- Powell has called the renovation investigation a "pretext" related to the Fed's refusal to lower interest rates under political pressure.
- The Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's ability to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook without cause could impact his ability to remove Powell.