Fed’s Jerome Powell says he would not step down if Trump asked for his resignation: ‘Not permitted’
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that he would not step down from his position if President-elect Donald Trump asked for his resignation.
When asked by reporters if he would resign per Trump’s request, Powell simply said: “No.”
“Not permitted under the law,” Powell said during a press conference after the Fed cut interest rates by a quarter point two days after former president Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Though Trump appointed Powell in 2017, he repeatedly slammed the chairman and the central bank during his administration for not easing monetary policies quick enough.
During his presidency, he called Powell and his Fed colleagues “boneheads” for not slashing interest rates.
In 2020, Trump criticized the central bank and claimed it was behind its global peers in reviving the economy after the pandemic.
“I have the right to remove him,” Trump said of Powell, who was reappointed by President Joe Biden for another term, which ends in 2026.
Trump has promised that rates would come down if he won a second term in the White House and argued that the president should have a say in the bank’s decisions.
“I don’t think I should be allowed to order it, but I think I have the right to put in comments as to whether the interest rates should go up or down,” Trump told Bloomberg on Oct. 15.
On Thursday, Powell said Trump’s win would not have an immediate impact on the Fed’s policies – which aim to achieve the Fed’s dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.
“In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions,” Powell said.
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Powell says he won’t resign for Trump, can’t be fired
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a clear, direct response when asked during a press conference Thursday if he would step down if asked to do so by President-elect Trump.
“No,” said Powell, whose term as chair ends in 2026.
When asked to elaborate and if he would be legally required to leave, he again said, “No.”
Powell later said it is “not permitted under the law” for the president to fire or demote him or any of the other Fed governors with leadership positions.
Trump appointed Powell during his first term in 2017 but repeatedly and publicly criticized the Fed and its chair for not cutting rates fast enough throughout his tenure.
Powell also said in 2019 that he would not resign if asked by Trump. President Biden reappointed Powell in 2021 — despite objections from progressives who have criticized the chair — saying he has burdened the average American by keeping rates too high for too long.
Trump suggested earlier this year that Powell, a lifelong Republican, was “political” and would cut rates ahead of the 2024 election to help Democrats. While the Fed did cut rates in September by a whopping 50 basis points, Trump handily defeated Vice President Harris this week.
The Fed is a politically independent agency and closely guards its reputation. But in August, Trump suggested he should “have at least a say” in monetary policy, including interest rates, because he has “made a lot of money.”
Trump later walked back his comments during an interview with Bloomberg.
“I think it’s fine for a president to talk,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that they have to listen.”
“A president certainly can be talking about interest rates, because I think I have very good instincts,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m calling the shot, but it does mean that I should have a right to be able to talk about it like anybody else.”
Trump also said over the summer that he would let Powell serve out his term, “especially if I thought he was doing the right thing,” but that he would not reappoint him for another term.
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