Washington,United States:
A day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H Powell warned that tariffs could complicate the central bank’s economic goals, US President Donald Trump declared his “termination” couldn’t come fast enough.
“If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” Trump told reporters, as per CNN. “I’m not happy with him.”
The president’s fury was triggered by Powell’s Wednesday speech in which he warned that tariffs might create a “challenging scenario” by putting the bank’s dual mandate – stable inflation and a strong labour market – in conflict.
The Fed will wait and watch before changing interest rates, and more rate cuts are unlikely unless prices keep rising for a long time, he said.
That approach did not sit well with Trump, who has repeatedly pushed for aggressive rate cuts. On Thursday, he pointed to expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) would slash borrowing costs again, using it to pressure the Fed to follow suit.
There are fears the president may attempt to remove Powell before his term ends in May 2026, as per a NY Times report. Trump has already taken steps to put greater control over the Fed’s regulatory responsibilities and has intervened in other independent bodies – including the Federal Trade Commission and the National Labor Relations Board – by removing officials.
Who is Jerome Powell?
Jerome H Powell was born in February 1953 in Washington, DC. He graduated with an AB in politics from Princeton University in 1975. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979, where he also served as editor-in-chief of the ‘Georgetown Law Journal’. After completing his education, Powell worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City.
In 1992, he served as Assistant Secretary and then as Under Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury under President George W Bush. From 1997 to 2005, Powell was a partner at The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm.
After leaving Carlyle, he became a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Centre in Washington, DC, where he focused on fiscal policy at both the federal and state levels.
In 2012, Powell was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed to the Board and sworn in in June 2014, for a full term ending on January 31, 2028.
In February 2018, Powell took office as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a four-year term, succeeding Janet Yellen. He was reappointed for a second term as Fed Chair and sworn in again in May 2022.
As Chair, Powell also leads the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s main body for setting monetary policy. Powell is often seen as the most powerful central banker in the world, overseeing the US economy and the dollar, the world’s reserve currency.
He has served on several corporate, educational, and charitable boards, including the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University and the Nature Conservancy of Washington, DC and Maryland.
Jerome Powell is married and has three children.