Would Jerome H. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, step aside if asked to do so by President-elect Donald J. Trump? Mr. Powell had a one-word answer on Thursday: “No.”
Could Mr. Trump fire or demote him if he refuses to go? Same answer.
Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Powell to his post in 2018 but soon soured on him when he resisted the then-president’s calls to lower interest rates. He considered firing or demoting Mr. Powell, but his advisers concluded that doing so would be difficult if not impossible.
Since leaving office, Mr. Trump has continued to criticize the Fed, leading to speculation that he could try again to fire Mr. Powell — or pressure him to resign.
Asked about those possibilities on Thursday, Mr. Powell said directly that he would not leave if Mr. Trump asked him to resign, and that the president did not have the power to push him out before his term as chair ends in May 2026. He declined to elaborate.
Mr. Powell made the comments at a news conference on Thursday following the central bank’s decision to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Fed officials have signaled that more cuts are likely but gave little hint on Thursday about when or how much they will lower rates.
None of that is likely to stop Mr. Trump from publicly commenting on Fed policy, something he did frequently in his first term. Mr. Powell has consistently said that the central bank makes its decisions without considering the political ramifications and that public pressure — from Mr. Trump or anyone else — has no impact on its policies.
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