The Fed chair says ‘we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors.’
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday that President Donald Trump and his team are reviewing whether to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, amid renewed tensions between the president and the central bank over interest rate policy.
“The president and his team will continue to study that matter,” Hassett told reporters at the White House in response to a question about Powell’s future.
Hassett also asked about his 2021 book “The Drift,” in which he discussed Trump’s earlier frustrations with Powell during the 2018 rate hikes and warned that firing the Fed chief would “savage” the institution’s credibility and undermine global confidence in the U.S. dollar. On Friday, Hassett suggested that circumstances had changed.
“At that time, the market was in a completely different place,” Hassett said. “I was referring to the legal analysis of the impact then. If there’s a new legal analysis that says something different, then there would be a different market response as well.”
Hassett’s comments came one day after Trump accused Powell of “playing politics” by refusing to cut interest rates, and said he had the authority to remove the Fed chair “real fast.”
In a Truth Social post on April 17, Trump urged the Fed to follow the European Central Bank’s (ECB) lead in easing rates, citing falling inflation and oil prices. He suggested that lower interest rates would complement his aggressive tariff strategy.
Speaking to reporters later that day in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated his dissatisfaction with Powell’s performance.
“I don’t think he’s doing the job. He’s too late, always too late and slow,” Trump said. “And I’m not happy with him. I let him know it, and if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast—believe me.”
The latest ECB policy decision saw a seventh rate cut since June 2024, as European officials seek to boost growth and cushion potential fallout from rising trade tensions.
The latest ECB policy decision saw a seventh rate cut since June 2024, as European officials seek to boost growth and cushion potential fallout from rising trade tensions.
By Tom Ozimek
