Trump likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell soon: Report cites White House official
According to the report, Trump discussed the potential ouster during a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans on Tuesday night. Several lawmakers reportedly voiced support for the move, despite concerns that it could unsettle financial markets and trigger a high-stakes legal battle over the Fed's independence.
The official, who spoke to the news outlet on condition of anonymity, said Trump has not yet made a final decision and could still change course.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates
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The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Bonding for cover
MAGA, or Make America Great Again, believers are driven by faith. A core tenet of their faith is that there is a 'deep state' in America that controls power for the benefit of an elite, and it is not accountable to the people or the law. MAGA voters are the wind behind the sails of President Donald Trump. A part of MAGA has now turned on itself, suspecting that some members of the Trump administration have enlisted in the deep state. In the eye of this new MAGA storm is Pam Bondi — the U.S. Attorney-General, a long-time ally of Mr. Trump and until she ceased to be, a darling of his voter base. MAGA believers do not want to question their own faith in the 'supreme leader', and instead turned their ire on Ms. Bondi. Mr. Trump has thrown his weight behind Ms. Bondi, who stands between him and the fury of the faithful. He has also asked her to heed to their clamour and release more information related to Jeffrey Epstein, an ultra rich, influential sex offender who died in jail allegedly by suicide in 2019. Rumours that Epstein kept a 'client list' of his trafficking network have swirled in the MAGA universe for long, and Ms. Bondi herself seemed to vouch for it. 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump,' she had said in February 2025, during an interview to Fox News, when asked if the Justice Department would release the alleged list of clients. Revolt in the base But the Justice Department and the FBI that comes under it declared in early July that Epstein indeed died by suicide, and there was no client list and no further investigation into his activities was required. The MAGA base rose in revolt. That this came as unsigned memo into public domain itself points to the importance of the whole affair for the MAGA base. Not signing off the memo did not shield Ms. Bondi, however. Commentators that shape the MAGA world blamed her for what they saw as a new cover-up. Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer, Megyn Kelly, and Glenn Beck, all influential voices in the Trump universe blamed Ms. Bondi for the mess. Many are calling for her resignation. She was one of the early converts into the MAGA camp and Mr. Trump found in her an extremely valuable ally in the key Republican State of Florida where was elected Attorney-General in 2011. She was a member of Mr. Trump's defence team in an impeachment proceeding in his first term as President. Just as the MAGA world was broiling in speculation that they had been sold out, a report in the Wall Street Journal alleged Mr. Trump had sent a note to Epstein on his 50th birthday, before his conviction in the sex case. Mr. Trump had a public association with Epstein but has denied any wrongdoing. He has also denied the latest WSJ story. Though both Democrats and a section of his MAGA supporters cry foul, it is the reaction of the latter that worries Mr. Trump more. His initial response was to disown his own supporters and call the entire Epstein saga a hoax. '….'new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker…. They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,' he said. But when the storm continued and threatened to scatter his base, he made another turn, directing Ms. Bondi to release more information related to the Epstein case. The Justice Department has pleaded a federal court in New York to unseal the records of a grand jury trial, including the testimony of Epstein. That will not happen easily, if at all, as the laws that regulate information related to jury trials take into account the privacy of crime victims and other factors. As of now, Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi, who have bonded more to shield each another, hope the storm will blow over. The Epstein episode is, in a twisted way, the validation of the conspiracy theory that deep state is always at work. It threatens and consolidates the MAGA rationale at once, hence.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Tensions rise as Lula blasts U.S. over visa sanctions tied to Bolsonaro trial
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called a U.S. decision to impose visa bans on officials involved in former President Jair Bolsonaro's trial "arbitrary" and "baseless," and said foreign interference in the judiciary was "unacceptable." In a statement on Saturday (July 19, 2025), the leftist leader said the action violated fundamental principles of respect and sovereignty between nations. In an escalation of tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and the government of Latin America's largest economy, Washington imposed visa restrictions on Friday (July 18, 2025) on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his family and other unnamed court officials. The visa bans were a response to the Supreme Court's decision to issue search warrants and restraining orders targeting Mr. Trump ally Mr. Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup to overturn the results of a 2022 election he lost. "I am certain that no form of intimidation or threat, from anyone, will compromise the most important mission of Brazil's powers and institutions, which is to permanently defend and uphold the democratic rule of law," said Mr. Lula. Solicitor General Jorge Messias, the top judicial official for Mr. Lula's executive branch, said in a statement posted on X late Friday that Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet was also targeted by the ban. Mr. Messias said no "improper maneuver" or "sordid conspiratorial act" would intimidate the judiciary in carrying out its duties with independence, as he condemned what he also described as arbitrary U.S. visa revocations targeting Brazilian officials for fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities. In addition to Mr. Moraes, seven other justices from Brazil's 11-member Supreme Court were also hit by the U.S. visa restrictions, Government Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann said on Friday. They include justices Luis Roberto Barroso, Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, Edson Fachin, and Gilmar Mendes. The Prosecutor General's Office and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Trump has criticised the proceedings against Mr. Bolsonaro as a "witch hunt", a term he has used to describe his own treatment by political opponents, and has called for the charges to be dropped. In a letter last week, he announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods starting August 1, opening the message with criticism of the trial. Mr. Bolsonaro is on trial before Brazil's Supreme Court on charges of plotting a coup to stop Mr. Lula from taking office in January 2023. The right-wing firebrand has denied that he led an attempt to overthrow the government but has acknowledged taking part in meetings aimed at reversing the election's outcome.
United News of India
2 hours ago
- United News of India
BRICS countries have no interest in replacing US dollar, says Russian Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov
Moscow, July 19 (UNI) BRICS countries have no desire to replace the US dollar, but rather trade in national currencies with other member and partner countries in a viable alternative, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in an interview, reports state media TASS. The response comes amid US President Donald Trump's claims that BRICS countries are inventing an alternate global currency to replace the US dollar, something which all member states have rejected. "No one in the BRICS community is raising the issue of replacing the dollar. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that over the past few years we have wound up in a situation where the Russian Federation has been deprived of the opportunity to use the dollar, by and large, for very many payments due to sanctions that block that," he said. "The necessary option for us is to look for alternatives in the form of mechanisms of mutual settlements that would be fairly resistant to external negative impact, be immune to this kind of measures from outside," the diplomat went on to say. "The alternative is to switch to settlements in national currencies. That's the path we are taking within BRICS." According to Ryabkov, Russia already makes more than 90% of all payments with its BRICS partners in national currencies. Many countries, both within and outside the bloc have long accused Washington of using its hold over the global currency as a weapon by way of sanctions and embargoes, and are thus looking for alternate avenues for ensuring financial autonomy and security in face of external pressures. In that regard, BRICS countries apart from trading in national currencies are working on initiatives like 'BRICS Pay' – a decentralised blockchain payment mechanism, aimed at facilitating smooth cross-border payments via bypassing Western controlled networks such as SWIFT, and other RTGS mechanisms such as CHIPS and CHAPS. UNI XC ANV GNK
