As virus roils markets, Trump again threatens Fed chairman (AP)
Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press • March 15, 2020 12:34 pm
Via Bangor Daily News
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday he had the power to fire or demote Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, adding new fuel to his long-running animus toward the central bank’s leader at a moment when the economy was at risk of edging into recession.
... “I have the right to do that or the right to remove him as chairman,” Trump said Saturday at a news conference called to provide an update on the administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. “He has, so far, made a lot of bad decisions, in my opinion.”
No Fed chairman has ever been removed by a president. The law creating the Fed says its officials and those of other independent agencies can be “removed for cause” by a president. While that issue has never arisen in regard to a Fed official, the courts ruled decades ago that “for cause” meant more than a policy disagreement.
...the president continued to complain that he was “not happy with the Fed” because it was “following” and “we should be leading.” The president pointed to lower interest rates set by the central banks in Japan and Germany as proof that Powell had not been aggressive enough in bolstering the U.S. economy. Economists, however, say the lower rates reflect the weaker economic outlooks than the U.S. economy.
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/03/15/national-politics/as-virus-roils-markets-trump-again-threatens-fed-chairman/
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