US President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the “fast” termination of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, again lashing out at the central banker for not cutting interest rates.
Mr Trump's latest threat towards Mr Powell came shortly before the European Central Bank was expected to cut interest rates. On Wednesday, Mr Powell suggested the Fed is in no hurry to reduce US rates.
“Too Late [Mr Powell] should have lowered interest rates, like the ECB, long ago but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.
It was unclear if Mr Trump was referring to firing Mr Powell, or the end of the Fed chairman's term. Mr Trump persisted with his threat later on Wednesday.
"If I want him out he’ll be out of there, real fast, believe me," he told reporters at the White House. He also said the Fed chairman would leave "if I ask him to". Mr Powell has said he would not leave his post if asked by the President.
Despite Mr Trump's calls to lower interest rates, the Fed instead has maintained them at about 4.3 per cent in its two meetings this year. The central bank is expected to keep rates steady when it meets again next month.
Much of the Fed's caution surrounding rate cuts has been over Mr Trump's tariffs, which threaten to raise inflation, slow economic growth and raise unemployment. Mr Powell on Wednesday said that could put the Fed in a bind.
“We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension," he said at the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Trump has for months privately discussed firing Mr Powell, although he has not made a final decision. He has spoken with Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, about possibly replacing the chairman, although Mr Warsh advised the President to wait until Mr Powell's term expires. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also advised against firing Mr Powell, Politico reported.
Any efforts to remove Mr Powell would almost surely end up before the Supreme Court. Uncertainty over his removal would probably cause further market turmoil as investor confident hinges on the Fed's ability to make decisions independently rather than off politics.
Mr Trump appointed Mr Powell as Fed chairman in 2017. He was reappointed by then-president Joe Biden in 2022.
Since returning to office, Mr Trump's administration has dismissed senior officials at agencies such as the National Labour Relations Board and Federal Trade Commission that were considered to have independence from the White House.
No Fed chair has ever been dismissed and whether such a move is legal has never been tested in court. The Fed is a non-partisan agency created by Congress and while the president nominates the Fed chair and governors on the board, they are ultimately confirmed by the Senate.
"We're protected in the law. Congress could change that law but … I don't think there's any danger of that," Mr Powell said.
However Mr Trump, who frequently berated the Fed during his first term, has been testing the limits of his executive authority.
As part of his push to exert control over independent agencies, Mr Trump signed an executive order in February that would give him more control over the Fed's regulation of financial institutions. But the order does not grant him control over the Fed's monetary policy decisions.
He has recently accused the Fed of "playing politics" – first after the Fed cut rates by 50 basis points in September, and again this month as Mr Powell suggested the Fed will hold rates steady for some time.
"We're never going to be influenced by any political pressure," Mr Powell said on Wednesday. "People can say whatever they want … but we will do what we do, strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors."
Separately, Mr Trump filed an appeal to the Supreme Court this month that would let him fire members of US labour boards, which could pave the way for him to dismiss other regulators at independent agencies. It is not clear if the ruling would affect the Fed.
"I don't think that that decision will apply to the Fed, but I don't know. It's a situation that we're monitoring carefully," Mr Powell said.
His term as Fed chairman expires in 2026 and his term as a governor on the Federal Reserve Board ends in 2028.
