NYT: Letter Drafted to Fire Powell. Trump Denies.

The members had been invited to the White House to discuss crypto regulation bills that had stalled in the House.

No president ever has attempted to fire the country’s top central banker, though others have criticized prior Fed chairs.

Key players in the Trump White House have launched a multi-pronged attack on Powell to push the central bank to lower its key borrowing rate. Most recently, they have blasted Powell over renovations to the Fed’s Washington headquarters, raising suspicion that Trump could try to remove the Fed leader for cause.

A recent Supreme Court decision indicated that the president does not have the authority to remove Fed officials at will.

Trump nominated Powell for the chair in November 2018 to succeed Janet Yellen, who went on to become Treasury secretary under then-President Joe Biden.

The Senate confirmed Powell the following February, but has been the subject of frequent criticism from Trump, both during the president’s first term and his second.

The Fed under Powell has held interest rates steady after lowering them in late 2024. Trump has charged that Powell is politically motivated and only cut in 2024 to help the prospects of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Trump appointed not only Powell but also governors Michelle Bowman, who now is the vice chair of bank supervision, and Christopher Waller.

Over the past several weeks, both have indicated a willingness to start cutting as soon as the late-July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, though not at a pace that Trump is suggesting.

The president has indicated he would like the Fed to lop up to 3 percentage points off the central bank’s overnight borrowing rate, which is currently targeted between 4.25%-4.5%.