Trump rules out firing Powell while pushing him to cut rates

Kevin Whitelaw, Bloomberg News on May 4, 2025

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President Donald Trump insisted he doesn’t plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite his sustained criticism over the pace of interest rate cuts.

“Why would I do that?” he said in an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" with Kristen Welker that aired Sunday. “I get to replace the person in another short period of time.”

On Wednesday, Trump issued another denunciation of the central bank chief as as the president faces growing pressure from the backlash to his sweeping deployment of tariffs.

Powell’s term as chair ends in May 2026.

Fed officials are widely expected to hold rates steady when they meet in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday. While concerns of a possible recession are mounting, government data on Friday showed a strong 177,000 jump in April payrolls.

If the Fed indeed declines to cut rates, Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2018, could face even more pressure.

Trump said in the interview taped Friday that Powell doesn’t want to cut rates “because he’s not a fan of mine. You know, he just doesn’t like me because I think he’s a total stiff.”

Senior aides, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have privately urged Trump to soothe jittery markets by making clear he’s not planning to remove Powell, Bloomberg has reported. In mid-April, Trump set off fears by saying in a social media post that “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” followed by Oval Office remarks to reporters that “if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.”

Trump also defended his mass deportations of undocumented migrants and complained about judicial rulings requiring the administration to give immigrants due process before deporting them.

Asked if he needs to uphold the Constitution, Trump said, “I don’t know.”

He added, “I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.”

Trump also defended his tariff policy, saying that companies are starting to move production facilities to the US. He added that he isn’t ruling out making the tariffs permanent.

“I wouldn’t do that, because if somebody thought they were going to come off the table, why would they build in the United States?” he said.

The president was asked again whether he was considering running for a third term, even though it’s prohibited by the Constitution. On March 30 he told NBC that “a lot of people want me to do it” but it was too early to make a decision. On Sunday, he seemed to rule it out.

“This is not something I’m looking to do,” he said, while citing Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as possible successors. “I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward.”

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