Donald Trump believes he has authority to replace Powell
In Trump’s line of thinking, he could demote Powell to be a board governor, but isn’t planning to do so right nowTheir account of the president’s conversations emerged just hours after Powell said he intends to serve his full four-year term
US President Donald Trump has told confidants on Wednesday that he believes he has the authority to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, according to people familiar with the matter.
In Trump’s line of thinking, he could demote Powell to be a board governor, but isn’t planning to do so right now, the people added.
Their account of the president’s conversations emerged just hours after Powell said he intends to serve his full four-year term despite Trump’s continuing criticism of Fed policy. Earlier this year, Trump asked White House lawyers to explore options for removing him, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations, said that Trump’s frustration with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is limited to his recommendation to pick Powell as Fed chair. Mnuchin is otherwise in good standing with the president, they said.
“I think the law is clear that I have a four-year term, and I fully intend to serve it," Powell said at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday after policymakers met to discuss interest rates. They left the benchmark rate unchanged, while opening the door to a rate cut later this year.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not doing enough to bolster the economy. The President has called for lower interest rates as he seeks to offset the headwinds created by his trade war with China and to create a favorable backdrop for his re-election campaign next year.
Trump told ABC News on 14 June that he disagreed with Powell “entirely," adding that “if we had a different person in the Federal Reserve that wouldn’t have raised interest rates so much," economic growth would have been stronger.
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