U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he does not intend to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, asserting that he has "no intention" of doing so.
Trump strongly attacked Powell last week for what he described as the Federal Reserve's "too delayed" stance on lowering interest rates, but the president's sharp attack led to a decline in stock and bond prices, as investors feared that the independence of the Federal Reserve was at risk.
Trump said during the inauguration ceremony of the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission: "I hope to see Powell more active in implementing his idea of lowering interest rates; it is the perfect time to lower interest rates."
The day before, Trump described Powell as a "big loser" and urged him to lower interest rates "immediately" in a post on Truth Social, which caused a sharp decline in stock prices on Monday.