Trump insists he won't fire Fed chair Jerome Powell
President Trump said Sunday he would not fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before the central bank leader's term ends over the next year.
Why it matters: An earlier suggestion that Trump would attempt to remove Powell — a legally dubious move — roiled financial markets, fallout that might have prompted the walkback.
But Trump has kept public pressure on Powell to lower interest rates.
What they're saying: Asked whether he had plans to fire the Fed chair before his term ends, Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker" that he gets to "change him very quickly anyway ... you know, it's in a very short period of time."
Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May 2026, though he can remain on the Federal Reserve Board of governors through January 2028.
Flashback: Trump first nominated Powell to the post in 2017, before quickly turning on him for not cutting interest rates fast enough.
State of play: Trump has stepped up that pressure in his second term, repeatedly bashing Powell for being "Too Late" to slash rates.
"He should lower them. And I wish the people that are on that [Fed] board would get him to lower because we are at a perfect time. It's already late," Trump said in the interview that aired on Sunday.
Reality check: The Fed will announce a rate decision on Wednesday; it is expected to keep them on hold as officials assess the global trade war's impact on the economy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
23 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
US Could See Potential 'Whiff' of Stagflation: Clarida
Richard Clarida, global economic adviser at Pimco and former vice chair of the Federal Reserve, discusses the inflation situation in the US. "If we do get stagflation, it's not going to be the bad old days of the Seventies," Clarida tells Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua. "We'll have a whiff, potentially a whiff, of stagflation." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran's supreme leader asks Putin to do more after US strikes
By Parisa Hafezi and Guy Faulconbridge ISTANBUL/MOSCOW (Reuters) -Iran's supreme leader sent his foreign minister to Moscow on Monday to ask President Vladimir Putin for more help from Russia after the biggest U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution over the weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel have publicly speculated about killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about regime change, a step Russia fears could sink the Middle East into the abyss. While Putin has condemned the Israeli strikes, he has yet to comment on the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites though he last week called for calm and offered Moscow's services as a mediator over the nuclear programme. A senior source told Reuters that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was due to deliver a letter from Khamenei to Putin, seeking the latter's support. Iran has not been impressed with Russia's support so far, Iranian sources told Reuters, and the country wants Putin to do more to back it against Israel and the United States. The sources did not elaborate on what assistance Tehran wanted. The Kremlin said that Putin would receive Araqchi but did not say what would be discussed. Araqchi was quoted by the state TASS news agency as saying that Iran and Russia were coordinating their positions on the current escalation in the Middle East. Putin has repeatedly offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, and said that he had conveyed Moscow's ideas on resolving the conflict to them while ensuring Iran's continued access to civil nuclear energy. The Kremlin chief last week refused to discuss the possibility that Israel and the United States would kill Khamenei. Putin said that Israel had given Moscow assurances that Russian specialists helping to build two more reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran would not be hurt in air strikes. Russia, a longstanding ally of Tehran, plays a role in Iran's nuclear negotiations with the West as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and a signatory to an earlier nuclear deal Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. But Putin, whose army is fighting a major war of attrition in Ukraine for the fourth year, has so far shown little appetite in public for diving into a confrontation with the United States over Iran just as Trump seeks to repair ties with Moscow. (Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Newsweek
42 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Marjorie Taylor Greene Criticizes Trump Over Iran: 'Not Disloyalty'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticized President Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran. On Sunday, in a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, about her "thoughts on bombing Iran," Greene wrote that she can "support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started." Disagreeing with his policy is "not disloyalty," the Georgia Republican added. "Critical thinking and having my own opinions is the most American thing ever," Greene continued. "Because contrary to what brainwashed Democrat boomers say, Trump is not a king, MAGA is not a cult, and President Trump has surrounded himself with people who once disagreed with him and even ran against him for President." Newsweek has contacted a spokesperson for Greene and the White House for comment via emails sent outside regular business hours. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene presiding over a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on February 26. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene presiding over a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on February It Matters Trump announced on Saturday night that the U.S. struck three sites in Iran to hinder its ability to develop a nuclear weapon, inserting itself in the Israel-Iran conflict. For days prior to the U.S.'s strike, Greene—who is among the president's most devout supporters in the Make America Great Again movement—had urged against deeper American involvement, saying it would be counter to Trump's promises to keep the U.S. out of costly foreign wars. Greene has consistently defended Trump and his MAGA agenda since joining Congress in 2021, and her post on Sunday appears to be the first time she has called the president out by name. The congresswoman, who is up for reelection next year, risks Trump's wrath and may hinder her chances in the 2026 midterms. The president has already lashed out at Representative Thomas Massie after the Kentucky Republican criticized Trump's decision to bomb Iran, with Axios reporting that the president's political operation has launched an effort to unseat Massie. What To Know Greene and other high-profile Trump backers had publicly spoken out against U.S. involvement in the conflict in the days leading up to the president's announcement. After Trump announced the strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, Greene wrote on X, "Let us join together and pray for the safety of our U.S. troops and Americans in the Middle East." In a follow-up post, she fiercely criticized the decision to get involved in "another senseless foreign war." "I'm 51 years old. I'm GenX," Greene wrote. "I've watched our country go to war in foreign lands for foreign causes on behalf of foreign interests for as long as I can remember. I was in 10th grade when Desert Storm started and my father before me was sent to Vietnam, another senseless foreign war." She added: "Foreign wars have cost Americans TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS of dollars that never benefited any American. "American troops have been killed and forever torn apart physically and mentally for regime change, foreign wars, and for military industrial base profits. I'm sick of it." Greene continued: "I can easily say I support nuclear armed Israel's right to defend themselves and also say at the same time I don't want to fight or fund nuclear armed Israel's wars. Nor any other country for that matter." In the same post, she criticized "Democrats in Congress that are all of sudden clutching their pearls about Trump bombing Iran," saying they "FULLY SUPPORTED AND VOTED TO FUND Dementia ridden Biden's proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and stood by Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan." What People Are Saying Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene previously spoke with Newsweek about a poll showing that most GOP voters opposed U.S. military involvement in the conflict: "It's no surprise that a majority of Republicans oppose U.S. intervention in Israel's war with Iran. In November, voters cast their ballots to end the forever wars. I'm not surprised one bit. Americans want our government focused on solving our problems here at home, and we have many to solve." William F. Hall, an adjunct professor of political science and business at Webster University in St. Louis, recently told Newsweek: "[Greene] currently finds herself in a predicament of having to choose between, continuing to honor her past positions of being staunchly against further U.S. involvement in foreign wars … and continuing her staunch unwavering support for President Trump's policy positions, including his evolving policy with respect to potential engagements in foreign wars in the Middle East Region, including his increasing potential to involve the U.S. in the Israeli-Iran war." What Happens Next It is not clear whether the U.S. will continue attacking Iran alongside Israel. Trump has warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates against American forces.
