Trump Said to Discuss Firing Fed's Powell After Latest Rate Hike

[Julian Englis]

Source: Bloomberg

President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as his frustration with the central bank chief intensified following this week’s interest-rate increase and months of stock-market losses, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Advisers close to Trump aren’t convinced he would move against Powell and are hoping that the president’s latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays, the people said on condition of anonymity. Some of Trump’s advisers have warned him that firing Powell would be a disastrous move.

Yet the president has talked privately about firing Powell many times in the past few days, said two of the people.

Any attempt by Trump to push out Powell would have potentially devastating ripple effects across financial markets, undermining investors’ confidence in the central bank’s ability to shepherd the economy without political interference. It would come as markets have plummeted in recent weeks, with the major stock indexes already down sharply for the year.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-22/trump-said-to-discuss-firing-fed-s-powell-after-latest-rate-hike

---

The moron's going to cause a full blown panic.

[unblock]

1. I believe the fed chair can only be removed for cause.

What exactly constitutes cause, I'm not sure.

But obviously it would shatter any fed independence if he were to be fired over one specific rate hike decision.

Which, incidentally, wasn't made solely by him.

[still_one]

5. That is true, but I am sure he can come up with a cause

[elleng]

6. He may come up with an 'excuse,'

but it likely won't truly be the 'cause' necessary (like 'conflict of interest.')


This is where the 25th Amendment should come in.

[still_one]

18. I don't think there is anyone in his administration who would exercise the 25th amendment though

[SergeStorms]

11. 'cause he's raising interest rates...

Donnie Dip-Shit can't brag about the Stock Market every day now. Raising the rates is necessary to keep the economy from running amok, but Donnie Dip-Shit doesn't see that. All he sees is the market tanking, and of course he has to find someone to blame it on, because it couldn't possibly be his dumpster fire of an administration causing it. If you do something Donnie Dip-Shit doesn't like, whether it makes complete sense or not, he's going to fuck someone over, just because it makes his insecure ass feel a little better. The madness of King Donald is upon us.

[WePurrsevere]

28. Exactly this! nt

[D_Master81]

31. The "cause" is doing the right thing, not doing what Trump wants

Trumps wants cheap money so the economy stays good as long as he's in office. I truly believe he wants it to be good while he's in and then the economy and country can crash and burn after he's gone for all he cares. Wasnt there supposedly a quote he made where he said, "I wont be here then"? If the fed doesnt raise rates the markets will stay good but it will lead to some significant inflation down the road. But Trump doesnt care about that, he wants his legacy.

[tinrobot]

2. If he does this, markets are going over the cliff.

The one thing the market hates is uncertainty. This would be as uncertain as it gets.

[watoos]

17. Exactly, this is another reason the Dow has been tanking,

just the suggestion of firing Powell is tanking the market.
His reason for firing him is he probably heard Rush Limbaugh say that on talk radio.

Who will take his place? Art Laffer?

[groundloop]

3. And who the hell would Tiny put in charge of the fed..... Ivanka?

Rage can't even begin to describe how I feel about this fucking idiot. I intend to retire in a year and at this very moment I'm watching my retirement savings shrivel up thanks to the impostor currently occupying the White House.

[elleng]

4. How selected:

'The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. A full term is fourteen years. One term begins every two years, on February 1 of even-numbered years. A member who serves a full term may not be reappointed.

The nominees for chair and vice-chair may be chosen by the President from among the sitting Governors for four-year terms; these appointments are also subject to Senate confirmation. ... By law, the chair reports twice a year to Congress on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy objectives.'

[pat_k]

14. In his current state, nothing DT does would surprise me

He is flailing. Beyond petulant. Raging. Looking to exert "control" anywhere he can. Casting off the shackles (voices of relative sanity) that have previously "curbed" his dangerous impulses.

He is too pissed to consider the real consequences of removing Powell for some bullshit "cause."

From this article:

The Federal Reserve Act doesn’t explicitly give the U.S. president power to fire the Fed board members. But section 10 has a mysterious little phrase indicating it’s at least possible.

“…thereafter each member shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the term of his predecessor, unless sooner removed for cause by the President.”

There is apparently no definition of what "cause" might constitute.

As he rages against reports that he needs "adult supervision," I think "removing" Powell could well be one of the more likely bits of rebellion against sanity. In this current state, I think that the more others advise against it, the more likely he will be to do it.

[empedocles]

26. Thank you. There probably is precedent defining 'for cause' somewhere.

[elleng]

36. I suspect it's something like conflict of interest.

I hope, if he were to try this, cabinet members and congress would recognize it would be time to invoke 25th amendment, as they'd recognize damage to the markets.

[empedocles]

37. 'Precedent', or at least supporting evidence could probably be found

in agency Opinion of Counsel, Administrative Law principles, actions by somewhat similar agencies, legislative histories, conflict of interest law, etc.

[elleng]

38. Right.

*The Federal Reserve Act, which created the central bank in 1913, states that Fed board members can only be “removed for cause” by the president before their term expires. Powell’s term as chairman ends in 2022 and his term as a governor ends in 2028.

The law does not specify the definition of “for cause,” a term that applies to officials in other independent agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission. In a 1935 case involving President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s removal of an FTC commissioner, the Supreme Court ruled that such officials could not be fired for political reasons.

More recently, some leading Republicans publicly pushed Trump to fire Democrat Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But the law that created the agency also limited the removal of the CFPB’s chief “for cause.” Trump did not fire him amid concerns of a court fight. Cordray resigned late last year on his own accord to run for Ohio governor this fall.

Powell’s leadership of the Fed since taking over in February has drawn praise from economists and financial analysts for clearly signalling the direction of monetary policy and slowly raising the still historically low federal funds rate.'

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-trump-federal-reserve-fire-20181011-story.html

[Julian Englis]

42. +1

[pat_k]

43. Thanks! (nt)

[napi21]

7. The Orange man doesn't understand that the markets are mostly reacting to...........

HIS trade war, HIS obvious ignorance of how the military operates, and all the other things of HIS that are creating uncertainty of the future! The short & small reaction of the markets to a bit of a rate hike would have gone mostly unnoticed if it weren't for all the uncertainty he's created. Of cours HE would NEVER accept responsibility for being the cause of the drop in the market. He has to blame someone.....anyone else.

[elleng]

39. Sadly, he doesn't care.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

8. Putin gets another present under the tree, courtesy of Donnie Two Scoops.

Gift #1 - Immediate withdrawal from Syria (Mattis' resignation was just icing on the cake)

Gift #2 - Lift sanctions on one of Putin's oligarch friends

Gift #3 - Collapse the U.S. (and possibly world) markets. In progress...

[RVN VET71]

29. Don't forget Afghanistan.

Putin is calling in his chips and Trump is frantic to oblige him. I have to wonder if the pee-pee tape has at least something to do with Trump's willing compliance, and if a luxury condo somewhere on the Black Sea might be his promised recompense for selling out America and doing Putin's bidding.

[global1]

9. Classic Trump....

he needs to have someone to blame for the stock-market losses.

It's not his fault for making Wall Street unstable. Yeah - sure!!!!

Actually - we need to get him out of D.C. and the WH. He needs to go to Mar-A-Lago and relax a bit to get his mind off of this stupid idea of firing the Fed Reserve Chairman. Maybe if he plays a few rounds of golf - he'll forget about this.

[olddad56]

10. I would guess that Trump has been ordered by Putin to fire Powell simply to add to the chaos.

that is Trump's assignment. to create chaos and disaster as long as he can, until he is removed. it is all revenge for the demise of the former USSR.

[watoos]

19. It even doesn't have to be Putin,

it could be Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh. He will do whatever his base is saying to Rush Limbaugh.

There is absolutely no doubt that Trump is insane. He is headed for a nervous breakdown if we all don't have one first.

[pat_k]

12. DT is Flailing. "The beginning of the end"

And it's becoming obvious. Apparently, even those within DT supporter circles are feeling it -- this past week marks the "beginning of the end," whether the end is in impeachment or being defeated in a primary challenge....

PBS Newhour Shields and Gerson 12/21

The whole thing is definitely worth watching, but "beginning of the end" comments are toward the end of the segment.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/shields-and-gerson-on-mattis-resignation-congressional-stalemate

[watoos]

20. We can't wait for 2020.

[pazzyanne]

13. More toddler tantruming!

[Major Nikon]

15. History is repeating itself

Nixon strong-armed Arthur Burns into trading short term politically motivated monetary policy for long term stability. The result was a monetary crisis that took a decade to resolve.

[duforsure]

16. He's desperate and wants absolute power

And abuses his power to hurt others with to get it. His threats will only get worse, and his actions will increase against the American people until he gets it. He's using the wall to justify the shutdown as a distraction and political PR stunt for the news cycle. His demanding the Fed chairman is his to use at will is just another example which he'll go from one department to another demanding they serve him and only him, and not the country. trump will destroy us if he goes down, or try like hell to do it to us.

[watoos]

21. I agree, he is using the wall as a distraction.

He is using hundreds of thousands of government workers as pawns.

[wishstar]

22. Once again he wants to blame his own guy. Markets only started tanking when Janet Yellen left

She helped keep market on a steady upward trajectory for years, even while starting the gradual rate hikes.

Had he reappointed her, she may have been able to keep things calmer with a slower rate of interest rate increases and more carefully worded remarks. But ultimately his own policies of blowing up debt with the tax cut, imposing tariffs and creating instability would would have created volatility hurting markets no matter who chaired the the Fed.

Par for the course, Ivanka interviewed her and several other candidates for Fed chair before Trump decided to let Yellen's term expire and install Powell instead.

[beachbum bob]

23. trump can't "fire" the Fed Chair, can't wait for his temper tantrum on that now

[Maeve]

24. For what it's worth, he won't fire anyone

He'll have to find someone else to do the actualy deed and with Kelly already headed out the door....

[watoos]

25. The market should be booming.

Trump gave them a sugar high. He cut their taxes, he deregulated, he let them bring back offshore profits for pennies on the dollar, (they didn't even take advantage of that, they kept their money offshore) he made it easier for them to ship jobs overseas.

The market should be booming. They used all of that free money to buy back stock. I guess it takes Donald Trump to fuck something like that up.

[Loki Liesmith]

27. Removal for cause has a technical meaning

Powell would have to commit a regulatory infraction or break the law.

[tanyev]

30. "hoping that the president's latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays"

So presidential!

[paleotn]

32. Damn it!!!!

What the fucking hell does it take for Rethugs to impeach this sorry sack of shit?!!!! Burn the economy down completely? Jesus H Christ!!!

[turbinetree]

33. The Grecian Formula (slightly Green hair was orange or blonde looking) excuse

named trump will look for "something" "anything"to deflect the events he is causing..........but he is still a fucking traitor.................and fucking criminal....................................


Had a boss one time had white hair, wanted it to look brown, put "Grecian Formula " on top of his head and it turned light tinge of green.................. to funny................

[The Liberal Lion]

34. Me personally, I'm all for letting trump crater the economy

and what better way to do it than allowing for a bubble economy. I want us, the people, to crater the economy. But unfortunately our lives have too much comfort that many are unwilling to sacrifice for justice. Fine, because it's going to happen regardless. I just hope that when the economy does pop we are this time ready to take charge. We had our chance last with the occupy movement, but in our own left wing laziness we let that very potent movement in part to be taken over by the right and the other part to just die. Shame on us. But we will get another chance, and that chance is coming soon.

[Firestorm49]

35. Of course,no one would possibly consider that the idiot is murdering the economy all by himself.

[Hekate]

40. Great Depression, here we come. I don't even have words for this. nt

[workinclasszero]

41. Go ahead and fire him Dump

You will unleash the final insane act that will bring you and your filthy party of traitors down forever!

It will make Bush's Great Recession look like a walk in the park.

[workinclasszero]

44. The reason for the next Great Depression

Will be Trump and the damned GOP.

Fascism thrives in economic depressions so Trump will be more than willing to pull the trigger I’m sure.