Trump Tightens Grip: New Pressure on Fed Chair Powell
July 17, 2025
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4:03Now PlayingTrump Tightens Grip: New Pressure on Fed Chair Powell
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as posted by the channelGlenn Hubbard, Dean Emeritus at Columbia Business School, talks supply side economics and how it's been put into practice by the Trump administration as well as the impact of Fed independence on the US economy.
President Donald Trump said he’s not planning to fire Jerome Powell, and still managed to make it sound like a threat.
Trump’s comments capped a hectic few hours that took his pressure campaign against the Federal Reserve chief to a new level — and sent markets into a shortlived nosedive.
He ran the idea of sacking Powell by a receptive group of Republican lawmakers late Tuesday. An aide said Wednesday morning he was likely to follow through. Then the president publicly backpedaled – with a major caveat.
“I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud,” Trump said Wednesday when asked about axing the Fed chair.
Read More: Trump Denies Plan to Ax Powell After Floating Idea to Lawmakers
It was a nod to the latest front that Trump has opened against Powell: Intensifying scrutiny of the Fed’s renovation of its two main buildings in Washington. The president and his allies say the project is unnecessarily lavish and way over-budget, and they’ve hinted at financial wrongdoing, too.
All of this is rooted in Trump’s view that the Fed is keeping interest rates too high – and it’s increasingly disturbing for investors, who tend to think central bankers should be left alone by politicians, not besieged by them.
Markets have gotten used to Trump’s verbal attacks on Powell, a staple of his rhetoric for years. They were briefly confronted on Wednesday with the possibility that words might translate into action — and soon. Reaction was sharp: The dollar slumped more than 1%, and long-term Treasury yields spiked.
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