Trump tells GOP lawmakers he will likely fire Powell ‘soon'
The suggestion came during an Oval Office meeting Tuesday evening with a group of 11 hardline House Republicans who revolted on the floor earlier in the day over concerns with a trio of cryptocurrency bills.
'The President asked lawmakers how they felt about firing the Fed Chair. They expressed approval for firing him. The President indicated he likely will soon,' the official said.
A second source familiar with the matter confirmed that sequence of conversation.
Markets dipped on Wednesday as news reports emerged that Trump is moving closer to firing the Fed chair, with the S&P 500 falling into the red, CNBC reported.
Trump has for months raged against Powell over the Fed's decision not to lower interest rates, a decision the chair has attributed to uncertainty around the president's aggressive use of tariffs.
Top White House officials have in recent days shifted their focus to the cost of the Fed's renovations and Powell's testimony about it, raising questions about whether the president and his allies may try to oust Powell for cause before his term as chair expires next May.
'I think he's terrible. I think he's a total stiff. But the one thing I didn't see him is a guy that needed a palace to live in,' Trump told reporters Tuesday in Pennsylvania when asked if he would fire Powell.
Asked if spending $2.5 billion on renovations to the Fed's Washington, D.C., headquarters is a fireable offense, Trump replied, 'I think it sort of is.'
Any effort to remove Powell may face legal challenges. It's not clear the president has the authority to fire the Fed chair without cause, and Powell has repeatedly indicated he will not step down before his term ends.
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