Trump Signals He’ll Fire Fed Chair Powell After GOP Lawmakers Give Green Light
President Donald Trump told Republican lawmakers Tuesday evening he plans to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The bombshell revelation came during an Oval Office meeting where Trump sought—and received approval from GOP members to make the move.
A senior White House official confirmed the exchange to CNBC. “The President asked lawmakers how they felt about firing the Fed Chair. They expressed approval for firing him. The President indicated he likely will soon,” the official said.
The meeting happened after Republicans blocked a vote on cryptocurrency legislation Trump had backed. CBS News first broke the story.
This marks a dramatic escalation in Trump’s ongoing war with Powell and the Fed. The president and his team have been hammering the central bank chief for months, demanding lower interest rates. Recent attacks focused on renovations to the Fed’s Washington headquarters—a move that raised eyebrows about Trump’s potential justification for removal.
But there’s a problem. Trump might not have the legal authority to just fire Powell.
A recent Supreme Court decision suggested presidents can’t remove Fed officials at will. The Fed chair serves a four-year term specifically designed to insulate monetary policy from political pressure.
The mixed signals from Trump’s own team show the confusion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg News Tuesday he didn’t expect Trump to move against Powell. Rep. French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said Wednesday he doesn’t see Trump firing the Fed chair.
Yet some Republicans are singing a different tune. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, the Florida Republican who helped block Tuesday’s crypto vote, posted on X that Powell’s firing is coming.
“Hearing Jerome Powell is getting fired! From a very serious source,” Luna wrote. She later added: “I’m 99% sure firing is imminent.”
The contradiction between public denials and private conversations highlights the chaos surrounding Trump’s Fed strategy. Administration officials keep saying one thing while the president apparently tells lawmakers something completely different.
Powell has been Trump’s punching bag since taking office. The president wants lower rates to juice the economy. Powell and the Fed have been more cautious, worried about inflation.
The tension isn’t new. But Trump asking for explicit permission from lawmakers suggests he’s serious about pulling the trigger. The question now is whether he’ll actually follow through and whether he can legally do it.
Markets will be watching. Fed independence has been a cornerstone of U.S. monetary policy for decades. If Trump fires Powell, it could shake confidence in the central bank’s ability to operate free from political interference.
The drama continues a pattern of Trump clashing with institutions he sees as obstacles to his agenda. The Fed, designed to be independent, has become his latest target.
