$BTC
POTUS Trump needs Fed’s Jerome Powell, he just doesn’t know it yet
President Donald Trump’s public feud with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week has told us one thing: the current administration has checked everything on its list, except borrowing rate cuts.
Trump does not like Powell, he made that abundantly clear before his return to the White House earlier this year. Maybe, just maybe, he could rush the Fed chair out of the central bank. But does he have to? Not quite.
POTUS Trump delivered his remarks about Powell on Monday after a weekend of rising tension and a pause on the Good Friday holiday, a break that had temporarily shielded Wall Street from volatility. But once trading resumed, investors wasted no time running away from US equities.
According to Trump, the chair is “Mr. Too Late” and “a major loser” for failing to cut interest rates. Is all the name-calling warranted?
On one hand, Trump believes he has done good by the markets, and it is Powell’s stubborn stance that is causing a bloodbath. On the other, Powell, making his case for no action using strong job and inflation markets, sees no reason to cut rates. And on that front, the latter could be right to pause rate cuts.
All major US stock indexes fell sharply on Monday, led by declines in the tech-heavy “Magnificent Seven” group of stocks. The dollar index weakened to a three-year low of 98.3, while gold surged to a record high of $3,490 per ounce.
Speaking to reporters last Friday, Trump said that he would find ways to remove Powell before the end of his term in May 2026. A day later, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett added that the administration would “continue to study” the possibility of replacing the Fed chair.
Powell’s job security is legally protected
Powell, whom Trump nominated to the top Fed position in 2017, is legally shielded from dismissal under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The law grants Board of Governors members 14-year terms and stipulates they can only be removed “for cause,” a standard a mamm