President Donald Trump says he wants Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell gone after the central banker signalled no rush to cut interest rates despite tariff risks.
“Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump wrote on social media, a day after Powell warned that new import duties could push inflation higher and complicate the Fed’s twin goals of price stability and strong employment.
The central bank chief said the Fed could “afford to be patient” until it understands the full impact of Trump’s trade policies.
The wait and see approach angered Trump, who argues cheaper borrowing costs are needed now and points to expectations that the European Central Bank will trim rates for a seventh straight meeting.
Trump accused the Fed of being “too late and wrong,” insisting that falling oil and grocery prices prove the United States is “getting rich on tariffs.”
Trump demanded the Fed match the European stimulus and repeated that Powell should have lowered rates “long ago.”
The confrontation revives fears on Wall Street and in Washington that Trump will try to strip the Fed of its independence by firing Powell before his four‑year term ends in May 2026.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order aimed at tightening White House control over some bank supervision duties, and he has already removed heads of other independent agencies.
Legal scholars say a president lacks authority to dismiss the Fed chair without cause.
Powell has twice told reporters he would not resign if asked and noted that the Federal Reserve Act does not permit a unilateral firing.
Still, Trump’s threat lands as the US Supreme Court weighs whether he can sack leaders of two separate watchdog bodies while their appeals play out.
Powell said the Fed is “monitoring carefully” but does not expect any ruling to apply to the central bank.