Fed Chief Says He Won't Go If Trump Tries to Fire Him

If President Trump decides that he wants to get rid of Jerome Powell, he's going to find the Federal Reserve chairman a lot harder to fire than a Celebrity Apprentice contestant. Powell, whose policies have frequently been criticized by the president, told the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday that he wouldn't go if Trump tried to fire him, CNN reports. Committee chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters asked Powell: "If the president called you, today or tomorrow, and said, 'I'm firing you. Pack up. It's time to go,' what would you do?" He responded: "Of course, I would not do that." When the Democrat said she couldn't hear him, to laughter in the room, Powell said, "My answer would be no," CBS reports.

Asked if he believes Trump, who appointed him last year, has the power to fire him, Powell told the committee: "What I have said is the law gives me a four-year term and I fully intend to serve it." Trying to fire Powell would put Trump in "uncharted waters," Fox reports, although the 1913 Federal Reserve Act suggests that it is possible for a president to remove a member of the Fed's board "for cause." In any case, Trump may soon cease his attacks on Powell, the BBC reports. The Fed chief, long criticized by Trump for not cutting interest rates, suggested Wednesday that a cut could be on the way. (More Jerome Powell stories.)