WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Wednesday (Jul 16) he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, following a Bloomberg report that he might do so soon, a report that rattled financial markets.
“Such reports are not true,” Trump said, while speaking to reporters at the White House.
“I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud,” he added, referencing criticism from the White House and Republican lawmakers over cost overruns in the US$2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s historic headquarters in Washington.
MARKETS REACT TO RUMOURS
The initial report sparked a drop in stocks and the US dollar, and pushed Treasury yields higher. Stocks pared some of their losses and Treasury yields pulled back slightly after Trump walked back the rumours.
Nevertheless, Trump renewed his criticism of Powell, calling him a “terrible” chair and accusing him of failing to cut interest rates.
He acknowledged discussing the idea of firing Powell with some Republican lawmakers, but said he remained more cautious than them about the approach.
Asked whether the White House had signaled any move to oust Powell, a Fed official pointed to the chair’s repeated public statements that he intends to complete his term, which ends on May 15, 2026.
Powell was first nominated by Trump in 2017 and re-nominated for a second term by President Joe Biden in 2021.
