US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, just days after his statement that he would like to terminate the head of the US central bank caused a stock market sell-off.
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“I have no intention of firing him,” Trump told reporters.
The US president had previously insinuated otherwise as he said he could fire Powell if he wanted to, having been frustrated by the Fed putting a pause on cuts to short-term interest rates.
Powell has said that Trump’s tariffs are creating uncertainty about slower growth and higher inflationary pressures, while the president maintains that inflationary worries are essentially non-existent.
The president maintains that energy and grocery prices are falling, so the Fed should cut its benchmark rates because inflation is no longer a threat to the US economy, Trump said.
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His remarks indicated that he still plans to use the bully pulpit to pressure a US central bank that is committed to resisting political pressure as part of its mandate to stabilise prices and maximise employment.
