Can Trump Fire Powell? Only Custom Stands in His Way
History shows that the autonomy of “independent” agencies is a matter of tradition, not law.
Now wait just one minute.
Photographer: Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
How safe is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s job? After President Donald Trump threatened to fire him several weeks ago, Powell upped the ante by declaring that he would refuse to resign if Trump tried to get rid of him, effectively drawing a line in the sand.
Conventional wisdom holds that the president can’t fire him. That argument, however, has never been tested by reality and may not hold up. Like other norms that Trump has violated, this one is more fragile than it might first appear. The history of “independent” agencies like the Fed suggests their autonomy rests on custom and tradition rather than bedrock law.