Trump wants to seize direct control of U.S. monetary policy…
“The President asked lawmakers how they felt about firing the Fed Chair. They expressed approval for firing him. The President indicated he likely will soon,” a senior White House official told The Hill.
Trump asked the eleven Republicans the question during an Oval Office meeting yesterday evening. A second source confirmed the conversation. The New York Times reports that Trump also showed off a “draft of a letter” for firing Powell.
Trump has been railing against Powell for months and demanding that he lower interest rates. Meanwhile, Powell has ignored the mudslinging and performed his nonpartisan job with focus and professionalism. He has stated that one major reason for holding off on a rate decrease is the uncertainty created by the Trump tariffs. The Fed is still trying to calculate the long term effects.
“I think he’s terrible. I think he’s a total stiff. But the one thing I didn’t see him is a guy that needed a palace to live in,” Trump said yesterday when asked about a possible firing. He said that he “sort of thinks” that the Fed spending $2.5 billion to renovate its headquarters is a fireable offense.
The markets are already reacting to Trump’s plans and CNBC reports that the S&P 500 has dipped into the red. Once again, we see Trump creating economic chaos through a virulent mix of self-interest and incompetence.
However, it remains an open question whether or not Trump can even fire Powell at all. It’s a legal gray area and Powell has already indicated that he will not step down even if directed to by the president. He said that it is “not permitted under the law.”
Perhaps spooked by the effect of the reports on the market, Trump has denied that he plans to fire Powell saying that “We’re not planning on doing it” and “It’s highly unlikely.” Given his profound penchant for lying, these claims can be taken with a grain of salt. The fact that he has already drafted a termination letter shows where his real thinking is.
There is one final piece to consider here, and that’s the growing scandal around the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump fired off a Truth Social post earlier today about the “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax” and attacked his “PAST supporters” for having “bought into this b*llshit.” Every time Trump hits a bad news cycle, he creates some new scandal to distract the media. Firing Powell would be a major story and Trump may use it to try to tamp down the Epstein fires.
