Explainer: Can Trump fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell? - theguardian.com

Can Trump legally fire the Fed chair?

The clearest answer: right now, probably not, but things could change.

On Wednesday, Powell affirmed that the Fed’s independence “is a matter of law”. “We’re not removable except for cause,” Powell said. “Fed independence has pretty broad support across both political parties and on both sides of the hill.” But he also mentioned a case going through the supreme court that may alter the power the president has over federal agencies, going off Trump firing an official with the National Labor Relations Board.

It’s unclear how the court will rule, but it allowed the firings to stand, overruling a lower court. “I don’t think that that decision will apply to the Fed, but I don’t know,” Powell said. “It’s a situation that we’re monitoring carefully.” The Fed’s next board meeting is on 6 and 7 May. Trump is likely trying to pressure the Fed ahead of it, but it is unlikely that officials will budge.

    • InevitableSwing [none/use name]@hexbear.netOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      6 days ago

      I don’t understand what you mean.

      The clearest answer: right now, probably not, but things could change.

      I think it’s very likely the 6 GOP justices will give him the power.

      • ThermonuclearEgg [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        The “law” in question is that any headline posed as a question can be answered “No”

        Thus, because it’s “another L”, that means that this headline cannot be answered No, because as you said, it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not, he’ll just do it and drag it on in the courts for as long as he can.

      • MaxOS [he/him]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        5 days ago

        I was just joking that betteridge’s law of headlines does not apply here because trump probably can fire the fed chair and nobody will stop him