Update (1600ET): The White House vs Eccles Building battle has been stewing all day with President Trump expressing confidence from The Oval Office that he had the authority to oust Powell.
“If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.”
🇺🇸 JUST IN: President Trump claims if he asks Powell to leave the Fed, “he'll leave. If I ask him to, he'll be out of there. I don't think he's doing the job.” pic.twitter.com/yvbAXuV8b1
— Fairly Flower Faith (@FairyFlower161) April 17, 2025
The president added that he is “not happy” with Powell and accused him of “playing politics” with interest rates.
“We have a Federal Reserve chairman that is playing politics. Somebody that I’ve never been very fond of. … Interest rates should be down now.“
Trump pressures "terrible" Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut U.S. interest rates, after he pushed for Powell's "termination":
— The Recount (@therecount) April 17, 2025
"We have a Federal Reserve chairman that is playing politics. Somebody that I've never been very fond of. … Interest rates should be down now." pic.twitter.com/2G2b5DNP2g
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has for months privately discussed firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, according to people familiar with the matter, but he hasn’t made a final decision about whether to try to oust him before his term ends next year.
In meetings at the president’s private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, Trump has spoken with Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, about potentially firing Powell before his term ends and possibly selecting Warsh to be his replacement, the people said.
Warsh has advised against firing Powell and has argued that he should let the Fed chair complete his term without interference, according to the people.
The conversations with Warsh carried into February, while others close to the president have spoken to Trump about firing Powell as recently as early March, the people said.
Inside the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly consistently pushed back against Trump advisers who want to replace Powell, arguing that doing so would provide little benefit relative to the high potential cost. This week, he referred to the Fed’s independence on monetary policy as a “jewel box” that the U.S. should never compromise.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren could not resist but add her opinion on this – having demanded that Powell slash rates in the run up to the election and excoriated the Fed head numerous times publicly – proclaiming that if Powell is removed from his position that the world will end, stocks will crash, and America will become a dictatorship…
🚨 WARREN CLAIMS FIRING FED CHAIR = STOCK MARKET CRASH & DICTATORSHIP
— Irrelevant News (@IrrelevantFeed) April 17, 2025
Sen. Elizabeth Warren warns that if Trump removes Jerome Powell, it’ll tank the market and turn America into a dictatorship. Yes, seriously.
pic.twitter.com/e0WSBKDGHD
Crucially, we much consider whether Trump actually wants Powell gone, or is he setting him as the scapegoat in the event that the US economy slips into recession?
Given the lengthy legal bullshit that would likely take place should Trump try and fire him (taking Powell beyond his current term’s end), we strongly suspect Trump’s motives are to push Powell to cut rates to bridge the economy until Trump’s ‘big beautiful Bill’ can be fully realized (and in the event rates are not cut, to blame him for once again being “too late and slow.”)
* * *
As US equity markets continue to fall – and recession calls mount from establishment elites, despite strong ‘hard’ data’ – President Trump lashed out at Fed Chair Powell via TruthSocial this morning exclaiming that Powell’s termination from his position can’t come quickly enough, arguing that the US central bank should have lowered interest rates already this year, and in any case should do so now.
The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, “Too Late” Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete “mess!”
Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS.
Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now.
Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!
In Europe, trade wars are dovish:
Reuters reports that the ECB decision to cut rates for a 7th time was unanimous as even some of the more hawkish rate setters agreed the global trade was has significantly altered the outlook.
In a news conference in November, Powell was asked whether he would step down if Trump asked him to resign.
Powell gave an unusually blunt answer: “No.”
He later added that the removal or demotion of top Fed officials was “not permitted under the law.”
The President of the United States cannot unilaterally fire the Chairman of the Federal Reserve before the end of their term, except under specific legal conditions. Here’s a structured breakdown:
Appointment Process:
The Fed Chair is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a 4-year term, which is renewable. The Chair also serves as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, who have 14-year terms.Legal Framework:
The Federal Reserve Act allows the President to remove a Board member (including the Chair) only “for cause” (e.g., misconduct, neglect of duty). This does not include policy disagreements or political differences.
This provision ensures the Fed’s operational independence from short-term political pressures, safeguarding its role in managing monetary policy.Historical Context:
Past presidents (e.g., Nixon with Arthur Burns, Reagan with Paul Volcker) have faced limitations in influencing Fed Chairs. While they could apply political pressure or decline reappointment, outright removal was not legally feasible without just cause.
Courts have historically upheld the Fed’s independence, reinforcing that “for cause” requires a high threshold, such as ethical violations or incapacity.Practical Implications:
A President can indirectly influence the Fed by shaping its leadership through appointments (when terms expire) or public persuasion. However, abrupt removal to impose preferred policies would face legal challenges and undermine institutional credibility.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week indicated that the administration’s timeline for considering Powell’s successor was roughly six months away.
Speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview, Bessent said that the timing for interviewing candidates to replace Powell was “sometime in the fall.”
Bessent also said that Fed independence in deciding on monetary policy was a “jewel box that has got to be preserved.”
We suspect some of Trump’s frustration comes from the fact that China’s PBOC is doing ‘whatever it takes’ to prop up their economy/market (take your pick)…
Furthermore, Trump does have grounds for thinking that the so-called ‘Independent’ Fed is far from it following the comments from Bill Dudley in 2019…
Doesn’t sound like an ‘apolitical’ entity to us?
One more thing – for mathematically gifted among you – why did The Fed slash rates by 50bps just ahead of the election when financial conditions were already ‘easy’ but refuses to do so now that financial conditions are drastically tighter?
At least Trump hasn’t got physical with Powell… yet!
However, Trump’s ability to remove top officials at agencies that had long been viewed as having a measure of independence from the White House has come into acute focus in recent months, after the administration dismissed senior officials at the Federal Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board.
As Bloomberg reports, the firings are the most direct challenge yet to a 1935 Supreme Court decision that paved the way for agency independence.
Powell made reference Wednesday to a current Supreme Court case with regard to the removal of the NLRB and MSPB officials.
“There’s a Supreme Court case. People will have read probably” about it, Powell said in answering questions at the Economic Club of Chicago.
“That’s a case that people are talking about a lot. I don’t think that decision will apply to the Fed but I don’t know,” he said.
“It’s a situation that we’re monitoring carefully.”
Powell’s term as chair runs into May 2026, while his term as a governor lasts until February 2028.
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