Trump asked GOP lawmakers if he should fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Washington – President Trump asked a group of room republicans on Tuesday if he were to shoot President of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell – And the people of the room expressed approval. Several sources said Trump said he would.

Trump confirmed on Wednesday to journalists from the oval office he had spoken to the powell escape legislators.

“I told them about the concept of dismissing him. I said,” What do you think? “Almost all said I should.

Sources have told CBS News that Trump had comments on the Republican members of the Oval Office Chamber on Tuesday evening, after blocked a procedural vote that would have advanced the cryptocurrency legislation to the preferred chamber by Mr. Trump.

The idea of a president removing a president of the Fed is legally not tested – Federal law indicates that the president can only be dismissed “for good”. The action could have serious negative effects on the financial markets.

Asked on Wednesday if he wanted Powell to investigate fraud linked to the renovations of the Fed headquarters, Trump said: “Well, I think he is already the subject of an investigation. He spent much more money than he should rebuild.”

“I think he is, you know, he has problems,” said Trump. He added that there are “many people” who want the role of president.

Sources inside the administration have told CBS News that the president had socialized the possibility of a dismissal because of the facts in public and private remarks, but the White House has not yet officially built a legal predicate.

The Trump administration tried to increase the pressure on Powell, with Some administration officials Publicly accusing the Fed of having poorly managed a project of several billion dollars to renovate its headquarters of Washington – an allegation that Powell has pushed back.

For decades, the leaders of the Federal Reserve worked with a high degree of independence from the rest of the government, which allows them to make decisions concerning the country’s monetary policy with little contribution from politicians.

The representative of Florida, Anna Paulina Luna, one of the Republicans who voted against the progress of cryptography legislation, wrote in a post Post Tuesday evening: “Hearing Jerome Powell is licensed! Of a very serious source.”

In a later article, she wrote: “I am 99% sure that the dismissal is imminent.”

Several legislators of the oval meeting refused to comment, saying that the discussion was private. White House spokesperson did not immediately comment.

Some members of the Chamber’s Financial Services Committee planned to meet Powell on Wednesday evening, sources told CBS News. Some members want to strengthen the independence of its role, according to one of the sources.

Mr. Trump’s dissatisfaction with Powell, and his opinion that the federal reserve does not act quickly to reduce interest rates, has been a frequent subject of discussion for the president in recent weeks. Trump nicknamed Powell – who was first raised to the role of president of the Fed by Mr. Trump – “Mr. Too late”.

“I think he’s terrible,” Trump told journalists on Tuesday. “You talk to the guy is like talking to one – nothing. It’s like talking to a chair. No personality.”

“I think it is a stiff total. But the only thing I have not seen is a guy who needed a palace to live,” he said, referring to the renovation of the building.

Last month, Trump insisted that he would not force Powell to go out, although he called Powell to resign before the end of his mandate in May 2026.

“The false news say:” Oh, if you dismiss it, it would be so bad, it would be so bad. “I don’t know why it would be so bad, but I’m not going to dismiss him,” said the president on June 12.

Trump was unleashed against the Fed for letting stable interest rates so far this year after having reduced rates from last year. New rate drops could stimulate economic growth and facilitate the borrower of Americans, but at the risk of increasing inflation.

Interest rates remain close to a higher level of two decades, after the Fed increased rates in 2022 and 2023. Inflation has dropped considerably since then, but it remains greater than the 2% per year per year of the Fed, and Powell indicated that it planned to move cautiously. Powell has Also said The Fed is concerned, Mr. Trump’s prices could worsen inflation.

Mr. Trump has Argued inflation is already low enough To start reducing rates. He criticized Powell in increasing net terms, calling him “total and complete moron” and “Numbskull” in a social post of truth last month.

Powell was initially chosen as president of the Fed by Mr. Trump during his first administration, and former President Joe Biden appointed him for a second four -year term in 2022.

A dismissal would immediately arouse a legal challenge. The United States Supreme Court recently said they did not think that Trump has the power to do so. The May judges ruled that Mr. Trump can dismiss members of independent federal agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, but declared that his decision was not necessarily applied to the Federal Reserve because it is a “quasi-private entity” only structured “.

Ed O’Keefe contributed to this report.