Shelby warns Trump against firing Fed chairman

[DonViejo]

Source: Politico



By BURGESS EVERETT and BEN WHITE 12/22/2018 03:50 PM EST

A top Senate Republican is warning President Donald Trump not to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Saturday amid the president's evident distaste for Powell's moves to raise interest rates.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), a former Banking Committee chairman who currently chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Trump needs to be "very careful" how he proceeds with Powell. Powell was confirmed in January by the Senate, 84-13.

"The Federal Reserve is set up to be independent of the presidency. Although I disagree with Powell at times, I’ve been on the Banking Committee longer than most people ever have, and I chaired it. I think the Federal Reserve should remain independent, as much as it can."

A senior administration official said Trump has privately raged about Powell's decisions on interest rates much as he has complained publicly. But senior officials are strongly cautioning the president against any attempt to remove Powell both because his legal authority to do so is highly questionable and because markets would likely react very negatively.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/22/trump-fed-jerome-powell-criticism-richard-shelby-1074495

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Very Interesting.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. And if rump fired him, the markets would react violently, I'd think...nt

[Pluvious]

21. It all comes down to what his gut tells him to do...

Let's hope his nightly two scoops keeps it happy.

[Corgigal]

3. It's going to happen for sure now.

No one ever tell Trump anything important. You have to pretend he thought it up first. We're not dealing with an adult here.

[Lonestarblue]

4. Trump's interest payments are rising.

It’s always about him, and he owes a boatload of money so he’s paying more interest. If the market continues to tank, he will simply blame a slowing economy on Democrats electing a majority to the House. His supporters are stupid enough to buy that.

[politicaljunkie41910]

5. Just like they've warned Trump not to fire Mueller, but won't put anything behind their idle threats

Trump will fire the fed chair because he's run the stock market into the ground and now he wants to have a chance to manipulate interest rates because he can't fix the stock market and doesn't want to admit that his tariffs and other battles with China, Mexico, and Canada are the problem, and not interest rates. If left alone, interest rates and the economy will take care of themselves.

[at140]

6. FED Chair Powell is the best since Volcker...

He is right on target with interest rates. He has now built a weapon to fight the next recession (by having room to lower rates).

Countries with zero & negative rates in Europe have no weapons left to fight recessions.

[DeminPennswoods]

10. Monetary policy is mostly useless in a downturn

You can only lower interest rates so much. During the Depression, interest rates were nearly 0, but few had the income to borrow.

Fiscal policy, i.e., gov't spending is what cures recessions. Gov't spending first as part of the New Deal, then the ramp up before and during WWII is what brought an end to the Depression.

[Yavin4]

12. The best weapon for fighting a recession is a massive fiscal stimulus.

A stimulus targeted directly at the people do more to offset the ills of a recession than interet rates or tax cuts to the rich. Put money in people's pockets and they will stimulate the economy faster than anything else.

[rurallib]

14. there is no money left for this - they gave it all to the rich

to buy stock.

[at140]

18. The government can print money!

and sell US Treasury bonds. Those bonds can find lots of buyers.

[Pluvious]

22. Once again, we'll just borrow it from China nt.

[at140]

17. We are not anywhere near a depression right now..

Current economy responds quickly to interest rates. Almost everyone who wants to work has a job right now. There are reports saying there are more jobs available than qualified applicants available.

Both mortgage rates and consumer loan interest rates have gone up recently. You could get a long term mortgage loan for 3.5% last year. Now it is about 5.5%. The FED has lots of room now to lower rates by 1 to 1.5% and stimulate housing purchases and big ticket items like auto's.

My conclusion: FED chair Powell has done a very good job of steering interest rates.

[Yavin4]

25. I was speaking in generalities

Such measures do not need to be applied in this instance. Powell is doing the right thing by raising rates. For over a decade, savers have been forced to risk their money in the markets. Now, they're getting a decent return on their money.

[at140]

26. All true and agreed! nt

[Hulk]

7. Means nothing to the spoiled idiot....

“This what we like about him...he’s not a politician and not beholding to anyone...”, not even the rest of his country. He’s a fucking narcissistic asshole. NOBODY else matters.... nadia!!!

[old guy]

8. Does Shelby really think tRump cares at all about that toothless warning?

He probably doesn't even know who Shelby is.

[Nasruddin]

9. Warning level

Are we at "tut" or all the way to full "tut-tut"?

[duforsure]

11. Shelby doesn't understand trump at all

He's fixing to cause a huge disruption by whatever means he can to this country, so if we are attacked , say cyber wise he's behimd it to declare martial law and bypass him and Congress so he can then have absolute power. trump is treasonous, corrupt, and a career criminal ready to take over completely if he can to escape going to prison. He's capable of anything at this point.

[TomCADem]

13. Bernie Sanders vows to curb Wall Street by purging Federal Reserve of bankers (2015)

Is Trump attacking the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates different from Bernie Sanders attacking the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates? Populism can be bipartisan.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/23/bernie-sanders-wall-street-federal-reserve-bankers

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders warned on Wednesday that if he wins the White House he will “fix” the Federal Reserve by throwing bankers off its boards and increasing transparency and regulation as a way of reining in Wall Street.

Sanders criticized the pivotal decision by America’s central bank a week ago to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.

He declared that the move was “the latest example of the rigged economic system”, in an opinion article for the New York Times on Wednesday.

“Wall Street is still out of control,” he said in the article.

[pat_k]

15. Good info on how "questionable" firing would be in this post:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2228859

[JI7]

16. why ? the problem is the stupid tax cuts which mostly gives to those who can

already get what they want and even more.

[DFW]

19. Or else what? He'll send a strongly worded letter?

Trump doesn't read in the first place.

[Just a Weirdo]

20. Tender your resignation in protest, Shelby

Think Alabama can run Roy Moore again?

[JohnnyRingo]

23. Shelby probably told him....

...shafting the working class may cause people to grumble, but you piss off Wall Street and lose investors millions of dollars and see how much long you're behind that fucking desk. ⌛

Language Trump understand$.

[beachbum bob]

24. trump can't fire the Fed Chair or any Fed official.....Shelby needs to retire if he doesn't know tha