Donald Trump criticizes Fed Reserve Chairman Powell: ‘Firing can’t come soon enough’Trump’s comments come a day after Powell said at an event at the Economic Club of Chicago that the Fed’s “independence is very broadly understood.”US President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, saying his departure from the central bank “can’t come soon enough” and reiterating his demand for an immediate cut in interest rates.”Powell’s firing can’t come soon enough,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.”Interest rates should have been lowered long ago like the ECB has, but they definitely should now,” he wrote. Trump’s comments came a day after Powell said at an event at the Economic Club of Chicago that the Fed’s “independence is widely understood and supported in Washington and in Congress, where it really matters.” On Wednesday, Powell warned that sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump on every trading partner could put the Federal Reserve in the unpleasant position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment.
Although Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Powell to cut interest rates, the US central bank has taken a wait-and-see attitude, keeping interest rates steady.
The Fed’s benchmark interest rate is currently at 4.25%-4.50%, which has remained the same since December after multiple rate cuts late last year.
According to AFP, Trump has threatened several times to fire Powell, as he is attempting to do with members of other independent policy bodies in a case currently before the US Supreme Court. Powell said on Thursday that the Fed is keeping a careful eye on the matter but that he does not think any decision will be too costly to the central bank, whose credibility in managing monetary policy is seen as crucial not just to the US economy but also to global markets’ conformity to the Fed’s decisions.
Powell was first nominated by Trump in 2017, and was appointed to another four-year term by President Joe Biden in 2022. At a news conference in November, Powell indicated he would not step down if Trump asked him to resign.
