Trump has discussed firing Fed Chairman Powell - sources

Record ID: 1369383

  • Title: Trump has discussed firing Fed Chairman Powell - sources
  • Date: 22nd December 2018
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 11, 2017) (REUTERS) U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE BUILDING WORDS (English) "FEDERAL RESERVE" ENGRAVED ON THE BUILDING'S FACADE
  • Embargoed: 5th January 2019 18:49
  • Keywords: economy firing Powell fire Federal Reserve inflation Trump interest rates markets Jerome Powell Chairman
  • Location: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0039C10TVR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump has privately discussed the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, a move that could roil already volatile financial markets, two sources familiar with situation said on Saturday (December 22).
    The sources, however, said they do not expect Trump to dismiss the U.S. central bank chief, despite the president's public and private objections to the Fed's interest rate-hiking campaign and his repeated criticisms of Powell, whom he appointed.
    An attempt to remove the Fed chairman would be unprecedented and seen as an attack on the U.S. central bank's independence, which is meant to insulate it from political considerations. It would be on potentially shaky legal ground, and would probably hit financial markets around the globe hard.
    Trump has frequently attacked Powell, who was sworn in as Fed chairman early last February, and the Fed for raising borrowing costs this year, especially as U.S. stocks have tumbled and yields on U.S. government debt have begun to signal a possible recession ahead.
    The Fed's independence has been a mainstay of the U.S. financial system and is one of the reasons the dollar is the global reserve currency.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register