US President Donald Trump backed down from his threats to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from office, saying in an Oval Office statement that he has “no intention of firing him”. The news came as a relief to top administration officials and Wall Street, which had been bracing for potential market volatility.
The Dow Jones closed higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes also gaining ground. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments that Trump aims to de-escalate the trade war with China contributed to the surge in markets.
Bessent said a “2 to 3-year timeline” for rebalancing US-China trade is necessary, which calmed investor nerves and provided clarity on tariffs. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt assured that there will be no unilateral reduction in tariffs against China, but Trump expressed optimism about securing a fair deal.
The news came after a private meeting with CEOs of major retail companies, including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s, who conveyed concerns about the economic fallout from Trump’s tariff policy. They warned that store shelves could “soon be empty” due to supply chain disruptions.
Trump met with Powell on Tuesday, marking a shift in tone after weeks of heated rhetoric. The president had previously threatened to remove Powell from office, but said he now has no intention of doing so.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/23/business/stock-market-dow-jerome-powell-fed-trump/index.html