Trump Could Face Uphill Battle in Trying to Fire Fed's Powell
- Courts have protected officials outside executive branch
- Congress gave Fed appointments cover from dismissal mid-term
U.S. President Donald Trump
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Just because President Donald Trump appointed the boss of the U.S. central bank doesn’t mean he can easily get rid of him.
Should Trump -- as he’s recently discussed with aides, according to Bloomberg News -- seek to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he’s likely to set off a thorny legal battle, and one he may well lose. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a tweet on Saturday that Trump said he never suggested firing Powell, adding the president said he doesn’t believe he has “the right to do so.”