Trump denies report he will fire Fed’s Powell

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after a Bloomberg report that the president is likely to do so soon sparked a drop in stocks and the dollar, and a rise in Treasury yields.

Such reports are not true, Trump said.

"I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud," Trump said, a reference to recent White House and Republican lawmaker criticism of cost overruns in the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's historic headquarters in Washington.

Stocks pared losses and Treasury yields pared declines after Trump's comments, which also included a now-familiar barrage of criticism against the Fed chair for not cutting interest rates, calling him a "terrible" chair.

Trump did talk with some Republican lawmakers about firing Powell, he said, but said he is more conservative about his approach to the question than they are.

In response to a question about whether the White House has given any indication that the president intends to try to fire Powell, a Fed official pointed to Powell's public statements that he intends to serve out his term.

Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by Democratic President Joe Biden four years later, is serving a term that goes through May 15, 2026.

Last week, the White House intensified its criticism of how the Fed is being run when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, sent Powell a letter saying Trump was "extremely troubled" by cost overruns in the $2.5 billion renovation of its historic headquarters in Washington.

Powell responded by asking the US central bank's inspector general to review the project, and the central bank posted a 'frequently asked questions' factsheet, which rebutted some of Vought's assertions about VIP dining rooms and elevators that he said added to the costs.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto, David Morgan in Washington; editing by Rami Ayyub and Nick Zieminski)

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US President Donald Trump is likely to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell soon, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an unidentified White House official.

Separately, CBS News reported that Trump had asked Republican lawmakers if he should fire Powell, and several people in the room said he indicated he will do it.

The meeting with members of the House of Representatives took place in the White House's Oval Office on Tuesday night, CBS reported, citing multiple sources.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Federal Reserve monetary policy in recent months, angry over the central bank's refusal to cut interest rates. Fed officials have resisted cutting rates until there is clarity on whether Trump's tariffs on US trading partners reignite inflation.

Trump has called for Powell to resign, but the president does not have the power to fire him over a monetary policy dispute.

Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by Democratic President Joe Biden four years later, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chief, which ends on May 15, 2026.

Last week, the White House intensified its criticism of how the Fed is being run when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, sent Powell a letter saying Trump was "extremely troubled" by cost overruns in the $2.5-billion renovation of its historic headquarters in Washington.

Powell responded by asking the US central bank's inspector general to review the project. — Reuters