Donald Trump is circling Jerome Powell like a predator who knows the clock is ticking. On Wednesday, he told reporters he already has three or four names ready to replace the Fed chair, dropping their futures into the rumour mill with his usual casual menace. Names like Kevin Warsh, Kevin Hassett, Christopher Waller, and Scott Bessent are floating in the speculative soup of Washington. Trump’s problem is no secret. He thinks Powell is dragging his feet on rate cuts, ignoring the political heartbeat pounding towards 2026. The firing threats have become a ritual. One day Trump fumes, the next he retreats, but the real play is pressure. Some analysts say Trump does not need to fire Powell at all. He just needs to lean hard enough to conjure a shadow chair, a compliant voice whispering into policy decisions long before Powell’s term ends. Meanwhile, Powell sat before Congress this week warning that tariffs will pour fuel on inflation this summer, just as the Fed debates whether to cut rates. The institution once framed as apolitical and insulated now finds itself where it always eventually ends up in America. Centre stage, under the same hot political lights as everyone else.

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