Jerome Powell Appears Defiant In Face Of Prospect Of Trump Asking Him To Resign

By Eleonore Christiansen on November 8, 2024

LOADINGERROR LOADING

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday said he wouldn’t resign from his role even if President-elect Donald Trump requested he do so, suggesting the move would be illegal.

During a press conference with reporters after the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates by 0.25%, Powell was asked to weigh into reports that Trump’s advisers have claimed he should give up his post.

“If he asked you to leave, would you go?” a reporter asked.

“No,” Powell replied.

Powell suggested that it would be illegal for Trump to dismiss him or any of the other people who sit on the Fed’s Board of Governors.

“Not permitted under the law,” he said.

https://t.co/YTBT7tlQEF pic.twitter.com/HgLwXbkpgG

— Bloomberg (@business) November 7, 2024

","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Bloomberg","author_url":"https://twitter.com/business","cache_age":86400,"description":""No."Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he would not leave his post if asked by President-elect Donald Trump https://t.co/YTBT7tlQEF pic.twitter.com/HgLwXbkpgG— Bloomberg (@business) November 7, 2024nnn","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Bloomberg on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/business/status/1854625891583676897","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://www.huffpost.com","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"672de88be4b03941587e7111","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jerome-powell-trump-fed-chair-role_n_672de88be4b03941587e7111","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,2024-elections,jerome-powell,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/8b91a199-4ef5-467c-aa0e-d8fa693cf882/1_th.jpg?crop=629:354,smart&width=629&height=354&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"672de88be4b03941587e7111","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"2024 elections","slug":"2024-elections","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2024-elections","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/2024-elections","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/2024-elections"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2024 Elections","slug":"2024-elections","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/2024-elections"},{"name":"Jerome Powell","slug":"jerome-powell","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jerome-powell","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/jerome-powell","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/jerome-powell"},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/jerome-powell"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

rnrn","

rnrn","

rnrn"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

“No.”

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he would not leave his post if asked by President-elect Donald Trump https://t.co/YTBT7tlQEF pic.twitter.com/HgLwXbkpgG

— Bloomberg (@business) November 7, 2024

The chairman of the central bank also refused to speculate about the potential impact of policies Trump has floated as part of his economic agenda in a second term, which include tariffs and tax cuts, among other things.

“In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions,” he said. “We don’t know what the timing and substance of any policy changes will be. We, therefore, don’t know what the effects on the economy would be.”

He continued, “We don’t guess, we don’t speculate, and we don’t assume.”

Powell was nominated by Trump in 2017 to succeed now-Treasure Secretary Janet Yellen. President Joe Biden chose to put him forward for another term in 2021 despite the objection of progressive members of his party. Powell’s term as Fed chair expires in May 2026, and he has previously signaled that he intends to serve the full four years.

Trump has criticized Powell on several occasions for the Fed’s decisions on interest rates and even threatened to terminate him.

In an interview with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago, Trump would not answer if he would remove or demote Powell but suggested that the Fed chair role was the “greatest job in government.”

Democracy In The Balance

Don’t let this be the end of the free press. The free press is under attack — and America’s future hangs in the balance. As other newsrooms bow to political pressure, HuffPost is not backing down.

Would you help us keep our news free for all? We can’t do it without you.

You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can’t do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can’t do it without you.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

“You show up to the office once a month and say, let’s see. Flip a coin,” Trump said. “Everybody talks about you like you are a god.”

But an adviser told CNN that Trump plans to let him finish out the remainder of his term.

Related Posts

Ditch Brexit commerce obstacles, Starmer instructed amid fears over influence of Trump tariffs

Canada forces TikTok to shut its places of work, claiming firm poses risk to nationwide safety

Karine Jean-Pierre Loses Patience With Fox News Reporter Over Postelection Messaging

Germany: Suspected left-wing extremist arrested in Thuringia

Amsterdam : ce que l’on sait des violences contre les supporteurs israéliens après un match de Ligue Europa entre l’Ajax Amsterdam et le Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Serial killer Ted Bundy claimed he killed a lady whereas driving via Idaho in 1974. An investigator is set to ID her

Canada forces TikTok to shut its workplaces, claiming firm poses risk to nationwide safety