President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed he has no plans to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from his position, despite previous threats of doing so. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump stated that if he told Powell to step down, the chair would comply. However, if Trump asked politely, Powell might not respond.
Trump had previously threatened to remove Powell in 2018 and called him “the enemy” in 2019 due to interest rate hikes. In March 2020, Trump claimed he had the right to remove Powell, citing his decision-making as flawed. Nevertheless, Powell praised Trump for cutting rates during the pandemic to prevent an economic collapse.
There are strict legal barriers to removing or firing a Fed chair without “cause.” The Supreme Court would ultimately decide what constitutes “for cause,” but it’s likely Powell would remain in his position until his term ends.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/08/business/trump-fed-chair-jerome-powell/index.html