(Yahoo!Finance) - President Trump appeared to put to rest any lingering concerns that he might fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, ruling that possibility out in an interview that aired Sunday.
"Why would I do that?" he said in the conversation on NBC’s "Meet the Press" with Kristen Welker. "I get to replace the person in another short period of time."
Powell’s term as chair is up in May 2026, and Powell has already made it clear he intends to serve in his post until that endpoint.
But the president also made it clear that he doesn’t intend to stop calling for the Fed to lower rates. The central bank is not expected to take any action at its meeting Tuesday and Wednesday as it waits for greater clarity about how Trump’s tariffs will affect inflation and the US economy.
Trump told NBC that Powell doesn’t want to lower 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."
Trump started the speculation about a possible Powell firing when he said last month on social media that "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough." Less than a week later, he told reporters that he had “no intention” of firing Powell.
It apparently was a step that was considered. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters last month that Trump and his team were, in fact, studying whether the Fed chair could be removed.
Trump's attacks on Powell ramped up after Powell said in a speech earlier this month that the president's aggressive slate of tariffs would lead to higher inflation and lower growth and that the Fed would likely hold rates steady for now.
Seemingly acknowledging that slower economic growth could be on the horizon, Trump in an April 21 social media post called for "pre-emptive rate cuts" and referred to Powell as a "major loser."
"There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW."
Many other Fed officials beyond Powell have also urged patience and caution before making any rate moves, given the many uncertainties ahead.
'If you don't like to be criticized, don't take the job'
The race to succeed Powell as Federal Reserve chair is starting to play out in the open.
Two men considered by Fed watchers as possible candidates to eventually assume Powell's seat have offered some pointed public views about the central bank, its mission, and its independence in the days and weeks after Trump ramped up his criticisms in mid-April.
The most critical comments came from former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, considered by many to be a frontrunner for the job when Powell's term is up in May 2026.
He gave an April 25 speech in Washington, D.C., in which he said the Fed has strayed outside of its "remit" and that its "current wounds are largely self-inflicted."
Warsh called for a "strategic reset" to ease a loss of credibility and damage to the Fed's standing, underscoring that Fed independence is primarily up to the Fed.
Another current Fed official considered by some central bank watchers as a possible pick, Fed governor Chris Waller, also didn't shy from the subject of Fed independence or the criticisms that fall on the person who has the top seat when asked about those topics in a recent interview.
"You take the job knowing you're going to be criticized ... if you don't like to be criticized, don't take the job," he told Bloomberg during a television interview on April 24.
Waller said Trump's criticism of the Fed wouldn't influence how officials do their jobs and stressed that retaining Fed independence is crucial for whoever the next Fed chair is.
"Are they going to come in and keep the tradition of central bank independence, making policy in a nonpolitical way? For me, that’s critical ... whoever the next chair is," Waller said.
By Jennifer Schonberger · Senior Reporter
