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President Donald Trump has amped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in recent days.
On Thursday, Trump said he was “not happy” with Powell. On Friday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Trump’s team would “study” whether the president could remove Powell. Later that day, Trump criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates.
However, on Sunday, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he doesn’t believe that Powell is going anywhere.
“I don’t think the president, any president, has the right to remove the Federal Reserve chairman,” Kennedy said.
“I think the Federal Reserve ought to be independent,” Kennedy continued, remarking that both Trump and Powell should “sit down and have a hug and a cup of hot cocoa and work it out.”
Powell has previously said he wouldn’t resign as chair if Trump asked him.
Kennedy, a Trump ally, offered support for Powell.
“My experience with Jay Powell is that he’s got tiger blood,” he told NBC. “He’s going to do what he thinks is right, and he’s not going to go down in history as the Federal Reserve chairman that allowed inflation to become wild as a March hare, and he’s going to do what he thinks he’s got to do.”
Last Wednesday, Powell said during a Chicago speech that Trump’s tariffs were “significantly larger than anticipated” and could lead to higher inflation and an economic slowdown.
Powell then said that, for now, the Federal Reserve would wait to see how Trump’s economic policies unfold before making any changes to interest rates.
“For the time being, we are well-positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” he said.
In 2011, Powell was nominated by then-President Barack Obama to join the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Powell became the board’s chairman in 2018 after Trump nominated him for the role. In 2021, then-President Joe Biden renominated Powell as chair, with the Senate approving the nomination in 2022.
Powell’s current term runs until May 2026.
Trump’s campaign against Powell comes during a time of high uncertainty for the US economy.
The president’s tariff strategy — he has gone back-and-forth on tariffs for longtime allies like Canada and Mexico and announced and then delayed elevated “reciprocal tariffs” on nations worldwide — has received bipartisan pushback.
Trump has long said the tariffs will allow the United States to cut into its persistent trade deficit. And he has repeatedly highlighted his belief that tariffs will spark an American manufacturing renaissance.
In recent weeks, volatility in the stock and bond markets has rattled many Americans. US adults are increasingly unhappy with Trump’s economic policies. The economy was a key advantage for Trump during the 2024 presidential race.
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