#Trump Says He Has No Plan to Fire Fed Chairman Yet# Latest News: On July 16th, local time, President Trump once again emphasized during a midday conversation with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that “Powell is terrible and hasn’t done his job well.” However, regarding reports from several American media outlets earlier about “Trump might soon fire Powell,” Trump stated that there are currently no plans to take any action, nor has he drafted a letter of termination as some US media outlets reported. However, he did discuss the topic with lawmakers and mentioned that personnel adjustments would be made within eight months—Powell’s term should end in May next year.
Trump said he “probably won’t fire Powell unless fraud is proven.” He also mentioned that White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett was one of the candidates for the Fed position. The day before, Trump also mentioned Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as a potential candidate for the Fed chairman position.
According to earlier reports by The New York Times, Bloomberg, and CBS among other media outlets, after asking Republican lawmakers whether they should fire Powell, Trump “had drafted a letter to fire Powell” and “might announce his firing soon.” This led to a decline in U.S. Treasury yields due to the related reports.
Powell was appointed by Trump during his last presidential term. Since Trump returned to the White House this year, he has frequently pressured the Fed to cut interest rates, criticized Powell multiple times, and threatened to remove him from his role as Fed Chairman. Powell stated that Trump lacks legal authority to dismiss him as president, and he will continue working until his term ends, which is May 2026. However, recently, the Trump administration has attempted to “fire” Powell ahead of his term expiration by focusing on the high cost of renovating the Fed headquarters building as a new “breakthrough point.” (By Cao Jian)
