Trump says no plans to replace Powell as US Fed chair
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The news: President-elect Donald Trump said he will not seek to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term runs until May 2026, when he takes office next year.
When NBC interviewer Kristen Welker asked Trump if he planned to replace Powell, he replied, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t see it.
Powell last month said he would not step down from his position if Trump asked him to, adding it was “not permitted under the law” for a president to demote Fed governors.
The context: Trump appointed Powell, a Republican and former private equity executive, to chair the central bank in 2018.
But their relationship soured during his tenure, as the former president repeatedly criticised Powell for not cutting interest rates fast enough, threatening to fire him on repeated occasions.
Trump has also belittled the central bank chair job as a god-like figure who shows up for work once a month to flip a coin, and argued that presidents should have input on interest rates, saying in October he believes that, as president, he should have the right to “put in comments” on whether rates should go up or down, but not order the moves.
Powell was reappointed to a second term by President Joe Biden in 2022.
What they said: “I think if I told him to, he would. But if I asked him to, he probably wouldn’t. But if I told him to, he would,” Trump said in the NBC interview, aired on Sunday (early Monday AEDT).
Asked if he had plans to fire Powell, Trump said, “No, I don’t.”
The source: NBC News
