The Fed chairman said in a press conference after Thursday's rate cut announcement that he would not resign if President-elect Donald Trump asked him to.
Chairman Jerome Powell asked A reporter talks about the possibility that President Trump may ask for his resignation following the surprising results of Tuesday's election.
“Mr. Trump had accused Mr. Powell of hurting the economy by raising interest rates.”
“No,” Powell answered simply.
“Do you think you don't have to legally resign?'' the reporter asked.
“No,” he answered.
Asked whether he believed the president had the power to force his resignation, he answered, “The law does not.”
Mr. Powell was appointed Fed Chairman by President Trump in 2018, but was criticized by the president for his poor ability to carry out his duties. Powell was similarly asked in 2019 whether he would resign if President Trump asked him to do so, and he gave the same answer.
At the time, President Trump accused Powell of hurting the economy by raising interest rates, but Powell insisted that raising rates was necessary to avoid inflation.
Powell also announced Thursday that the Fed would cut the reserve rate by a quarter of a percentage point, following the 0.5% rate cut in September.
After his loss in the 2020 election, President Trump announced that the Presidency would not be able to control interest rates, despite warnings from economists that the Federal Reserve was established independent of the Presidency to avoid political interference in the economy. He said he would like to have more say in the settings. .
“I don't think I should be allowed to dictate, but I do think I have the right to comment on whether interest rates should go up or go down.” said President Trump told Bloomberg News in October.
“The Fed's independence should be highly valued not only by economists and investors, but also by the public.” said Economist Carl Tannenbaum told The Associated Press in August.
Powell continued Thursday that the election will not affect decisions at the Fed.
“In the short term, elections will not affect our policy decisions,” he said.
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