Trump is Reportedly Considering Unprecedented Move of Firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

As the stock market tumbles and the Dow hits a low that it hasn’t seen in nearly 15 months, President Trump is shouldering much of the economic blame.  As we all know with Trump, he doesn’t handle blame very well.

Now, according to four sources speaking to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity, President Trump has recently discussed firing Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.  Talks of firing the Trump-nominated chairman reportedly heated up after the fed increased rates for the fourth time this year last week.

The Federal Reserve has always been viewed as being independent from political sway.  It is considered “an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by the Congress, and the terms of the members of the board of governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms.”.

The mere idea of President Trump trying to influence decisions made within the Federal Reserve could cause markets to become uneasy, but firing the chairman simply because his opinions and ideas go against his own, would be a first for a President.  It would likely cause massive amounts of panic within the markets, and would be met by heavy challenges from those on both sides of the aisle.

Even more significant though, is that it may not even be legal for the president to fire the chairman merely for having a difference of opinion.

Advisers to the president tell Bloomberg that they are not convinced that Trump would actually move forward and attempt to fire Powell, however, and they are hoping that the holiday break gives him some time to cool off.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

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