Trump Reverses Himself, Says He Won’t Fire Fed Chief

President Donald Trump said he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, just days after his statement that he would like to terminate the head of the U.S. central bank caused a stock market selloff.

Powell has said that Trump’s tariffs are creating uncertainty about slower growth and higher inflationary pressures. I Photo: The White House Facebook

“I have no intention of firing him,” Trump told astonished reporters, Sarah Naffa reported for the Associated Press (AP). The U.S. president had previously ranted that he could fire Powell if he wanted to, having been frustrated by the Fed putting a pause on cuts to short-term interest rates.

Powell has said that Trump’s tariffs are creating uncertainty about slower growth and higher inflationary pressures, while the president maintains that inflationary worries are essentially non-existent.

Trump insists that energy and grocery prices are falling, so the Fed should cut its benchmark rates because inflation is no longer a threat to the U.S. economy.

Trump’s remarks indicated that he still plans to pressure a U.S. central bank committed to its mandate of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment. His frustration led him to post on social media last Thursday: “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” The Fed chair’s term ends in May 2026.