In a recent interview on Newsmax's "Finnerty," President Donald Trump made it clear that he has no intention of ousting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his position, despite the mounting pressure for his removal.
Trump's decision is reportedly driven by his concern that such a move would "disturb the market."
The friction between the president and the Fed chairman began to surface after Trump's announcement of comprehensive reciprocal tariffs in April. Powell voiced his apprehensions about the potential impact of these tariffs on the U.S. economy, leading Newsmax's Rob Finnerty to question Trump about his reluctance to dismiss the Fed chairman.
"They say it would disturb the market," Trump responded. "I would remove him in a heartbeat, but they say it would disturb the market. He gets out in seven or eight months, and I'll put somebody else in."
As reported by the Daily Caller, Trump has consistently urged Powell to reduce interest rates, attributing his administration's success to the tariffs. Despite this, the Fed announced in its fourth meeting of 2025 in June that it would maintain the target range at 4.25% to 4.5%.
On July 1, Powell stated during a panel that the U.S. central bank would have already slashed rates if not for Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, as per CNBC. This statement sparked calls for an investigation into Powell, with Trump sharing an article where the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency called on Congress to scrutinize Powell's expenditure on the Fed's new headquarters.
Finnerty further questioned Trump about the possibility of removing Powell due to the excessive cost of the new headquarters, estimated to be over $2 billion. Trump responded, "He's building a building for 2.9 billion dollars, a renovation for 2.9 billion, the Fed. It's not that intricate inside to start off with. I do a lot of that. I built a very successful hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue as a renovation, the old post office. I know more about renovating buildings or building buildings than like anybody, maybe."
Trump continued, "I will tell you, he's got 2.9 billion dollars that they're spending in this thing. Really more than that, if you include the whole project. It's way over budget by hundreds of millions of dollars. He shouldn't be doing that. It's like it's almost like he's building a palace for himself, but he's not going to be there much longer. Anyway, that's the good news. He'll never get to use it. No, the Fed rate is too high. Interest rates are too high. And despite that, we have a great economy."
Following the calls for an investigation, Powell requested a review of the Fed's estimated $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project after allegations of excessive extravagance, according to Axios. However, on July 17, Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna officially referred Powell to the Department of Justice for an investigation into alleged perjury related to the new building.
When Finnerty asked, "But Jerome Powell stays in place for now?" Trump replied, "Well, it's very disruptive. So I would say most likely."
During a press briefing on Wednesday, reporters questioned the Fed chairman about his refusal to lower interest rates, particularly in light of skyrocketing mortgage rates. Powell responded by saying, "housing is a special case," and added that the Fed doesn't "set mortgage rates."
Despite the ongoing controversy, Powell's term is expected to conclude by May 15, 2026. He has stated that he will not step down before this date, according to Reuters.
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