Trump: fire Powell or go
President Trump said he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if Powell doesn't resign, putting explicit White House pressure on the Fed leadership. (x.com) He paired that threat with praise for what he called the “Great Big Beautiful Tax Cut,” framing it as a win for lower earners while pushing a politicized economic message. (x.com)
President Trump said on April 15 that he would fire Jerome Powell if the Federal Reserve chair does not leave “on time.” (cnbc.com) Trump made the threat in a Fox Business interview with Maria Bartiromo, where he also said he had “held back” from firing Powell and insisted a Justice Department investigation into renovations at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters should continue. (politico.com) Powell’s four-year term as chair expires on May 15, 2026, and Trump has nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to replace him. Powell’s separate term as a member of the Board of Governors runs until January 31, 2028. (federalreserve.gov) That split matters because the chair runs the central bank, but a governor still votes on interest rates. Brookings said federal law lets a president remove a governor only “for cause,” not simply over a policy dispute. (brookings.edu) The clash lands as Trump keeps pressing for lower interest rates and as his administration argues for broader presidential power over independent agencies. SCOTUSblog reported in 2025 that the administration planned to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent that limits such removals. (scotusblog.com) Trump tied the threat to a broader economic message, praising what he calls the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and casting it as help for lower earners. The law, signed in July 2025, extended the 2017 tax cuts and added breaks including deductions for tipped and overtime income, according to the Tax Foundation. (taxfoundation.org) The same Tax Foundation analysis estimated an average federal tax cut of nearly $2,300 per taxpayer in 2026, with larger dollar gains in high-income areas such as Teton County, Wyoming, and Pitkin County, Colorado. (taxfoundation.org) Powell has said he will remain chair until the investigation is finished and a successor is confirmed, according to Politico. Warsh’s Senate Banking Committee hearing is scheduled for April 21, setting up the next test of whether Trump’s pressure campaign changes the Federal Reserve’s leadership before Powell’s chair term ends next month. (politico.com)
