President Donald Trump knows who he will pick to lead the Federal Reserve when Chairman Jerome Powell’s term is up: Someone who will lower interest rates.
Trump said many people want the job, but he’s only looking at what he called “low-interest” people. The president gets to pick the next chairman. The Senate confirms that pick. Republicans control both the House and Senate by slim majorities.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he is down to three or four candidates for what he described as not a very difficult job.
“It’s not a tough job, to be honest,” the president said. “Assuming you are smart, it’s not a tough job. If you are a dummy, then I guess it’s a tough job. It might be one of the easiest jobs.”
Trump said Wednesday that it was “highly unlikely” that he’d fire Powell before Powell’s term ends in May 2026.
“I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.”
Trump said Tuesday that overruns on a Federal Reserve renovation project could lead to Powell’s ouster.
During a meeting on Tuesday, the president said he had asked GOP lawmakers how they felt about firing Powell.
“I talked to them about the concept of firing him,” Trump said Wednesday. “I said, ‘What do you think?’ Almost all of them said I should. But I’m more conservative than they are.”
Trump has wanted to fire Powell for years, but hasn’t taken action. Since re-taking the White House in January, he’s pressured Powell to reduce interest rates.
On Tuesday, a top Wall Street banker warned Trump not to interfere with the central bank’s independence.
“Playing around with the Fed could have adverse consequences, the absolute opposite of what you might be hoping for,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said. “It is important that they be independent.”
The Supreme Court suggested in a May ruling that it wouldn’t let Trump boot Powell. The nation’s highest court said the president and the Federal Reserve’s relationship differed from other independent agencies.
“The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States,” the high court wrote in an emergency ruling.
Trump has repeatedly pushed Powell to lower interest rates, but the Fed has kept rates flat.
Trump has nicknamed the Fed Chairman “Too Late Powell” and said he’s not smart. The president has even suggested appointing himself chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Trump has called for aggressive rate cuts.
Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets rates, have taken a wait-and-see approach on interest rates, partly due to concerns about how Trump’s tariffs will affect the U.S. economy and the Fed’s mission for stable prices and maximum employment.
