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Trump maintains he could fire Fed’s Powell ‘if I wanted to’

President Donald Trump insisted Monday that he has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, though he added he has no plans to do so. Read More...

President Donald Trump insisted Monday that he has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, though he added he has no plans to do so.

In an extensive interview with The Hill, Trump was asked if he has the power to remove Powell. “If I wanted to, but I have no plans to do anything,” the president replied.

Ever since reports emerged late last year that Trump wanted to fire Powell over his decision to raise interest rates, experts have agreed that Trump does not have the power to do so. Central-bank officials can be removed only for “cause,” which is understood not to include policy disagreements.

Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said in December that Trump “now realizes” he cannot fire Powell. Last week, Bloomberg News reported that in February, the White House reportedly considered demoting Powell, stripping him of his chairman title and making him a regular governor on the Fed board. When asked last Tuesday whether he was still considering demoting Powell, Trump told reporters “Let’s see what he does.”

For his part, Powell has said Trump cannot fire him. “The law is clear that I have a four-year term. And I fully intend to serve it,” he told “60 Minutes” in March. He said the same thing last week, when asked if Trump could try to demote him.

When asked by The Hill if he thinks Powell is trying to sabotage his economic policies, Trump said he didn’t think so. “I don’t think he knows,” Trump said. “I don’t think he understands. He doesn’t get it.” Trump believes Powell’s policies have kept the economy from growing to its full potential.

On other matters during the interview, Trump said it’s unlikely that the U.S. government will pay reparations for slavery, declined to say he had confidence in FBI Director Christopher Wray, said he doesn’t need congressional approval to launch a military strike against Iran, said he would “of course” make a Supreme Court nomination before the 2020 election if a seat opens, and denied the latest allegation of sexual assault leveled against him.

Read: ‘Not my type,’ Trump says of latest woman to accuse him of sexual assault

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