Trump indicated to allies he will fire Fed's Powell, CBS reports
US President Donald Trump (left) has called on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, angry over the central bank's refusal to cut interest rates.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on July 15 asked Republican lawmakers if he should fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, and several people in the room said he indicated he will do it, CBS News reported, citing multiple sources with direct knowledge.
The meeting with members of the House of Representatives took place in the White House's Oval Office on the night of July 15, CBS reported.
Mr Trump has
repeatedly criticised Federal Reserve monetary policy in recent months, angry over the central bank's refusal to cut interest rates.
Fed officials have resisted cutting rates until there is clarity on whether Mr Trump's tariffs on US trading partners reignite inflation.
Mr Trump has called for Mr Powell to resign, but the president does not have the power to fire him over a monetary policy dispute.
Mr Powell, who was nominated by Mr Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by Democratic President Joe Biden four years later, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chief, which ends on May 15, 2026.
Last week, the White House
intensified its criticism of how the Fed is being run when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mr Russell Vought, sent Mr Powell a letter saying Mr Trump was 'extremely troubled' by cost overruns in the US$2.5 billion (S$3.2 billion) renovation of its historic headquarters in Washington.
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Mr Powell responded by asking the US central bank's inspector-general to review the project. REUTERS
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