US Fed Chief Powell Says He Won't Bow To Trump
Date
11/8/2024 7:05:49 AM
(MENAFN- Asia Times)
US President-elect Donald trump has repeatedly threatened to fire the chair of the US federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. Up until this week, that may have seemed like a distant and outlandish prospect. Now, we again have to take it seriously.
Powell himself certainly is – and has already begun pushing back on the front foot. Responding to the threat on Thursday, he insisted he will not resign. Further, he said any attempt by Trump to remove him was“not permitted under the law.”
Whether Trump actually attempts to follow through on his threat will provide an early litmus test of any potential authoritarian tendencies.
Powell's dismissal would breach long-standing norms of central bank independence . If successful, such a move could have a serious impact on democracy and the separation of powers, with consequences around the world.
[The Fed cut interest rates, as widely expected, by 25 basis points on November 7.]
An old quarrel
The feud between Trump and Powell is nothing new. Trump himself actually appointed Powell to the Federal Reserve governorship back in 2018. However, like many of his other appointees, Trump soon turned against Powell.
Crit icizing the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates quickly enough in 2019, Trump called Fed officials“boneheads,” accusing Powell of having“No 'guts,' no sense, no vision!”
Beyond Trump, many economists have praised Powell's management of monetary policy, which has successfully reduced spiraling inflation rates. President Joe Biden was sufficiently convinced to appoint Powell to a second four-year term as chair which began in 2022.
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