#TrumpVsPowell

President Trump and his team are studying whether firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is an option, according to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

Though appointed by the president and approved by Congress, the Federal Reserve chair is an independent role. Powell was nominated to lead the Fed by Mr. Trump in 2017 and was renominated to serve another 4-year term by President Joe Biden in November 2021. Powell's term as Fed chair ends May 15, 2026.

Can Mr. Trump fire Powell?

A landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in 1935 affirmed Congress' authority to create independent federal agencies whose board members could only be forced out before their terms expired "for cause."

After Mr. Trump was elected in November, Powell said he wouldn't step down if asked by the president, who has previously criticized his performance. Powell has also noted that presidents may not legally fire or demote the Fed chair.

But Mr. Trump this week fired two Democrats on the board of another financial regulator, the National Credit Union Administration, reported Reuters on Wednesday. And in March, the White House dismissed two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, which historically has operated as an independent, bipartisan commission.

Even if Mr. Trump were able to remove Powell, it's not clear that doing so would change the direction of the central bank's decisions on interest rates. Those calls are made by the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC — a 12-member group tasked with setting monetary policy — and not at Powell's discretion.