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President-elect Donald Trump isn’t planning on firing Jerome Powell, despite his past criticism of the Federal Reserve Chairman.
Trump was asked about whether he plans to replace Powell during a sprawling interview with NBC’s (CMCSA-0.18%) Meet the Press that aired Sunday.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t see it,” Trump replied. “But, I don’t — I think if I told him to, he would. But if I asked him to, he probably wouldn’t. But if I told him to, he would.”
It’s not the first time that Trump has discussed firing Powell.
During his first term, he repeatedly criticized the Fed chair, telling reporters in March 2020 that he had the “right to remove” Powell and criticized his “bad decisions.” In October, he said he doesn’t think he “should be allowed to order” the Fed’s interest rate decisions but said he should be allowed to comment on them. Trump also characterized Powell’s job as easy, comparing the Fed’s decision-making to a coin toss.
“You show up to the office once a month, and you say, ‘Let’s flip a coin,’ and everybody talks about you like you’re a God,” Trump said at an October event hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago.
Powell’s second term as the Fed’s chair is set to expire in May 2026, eight years after he was first nominated by Trump and took over for Janet Yellen, the current head of the Treasury Department. When asked last month, Powell said he would not resign if asked by the Trump administration, adding that it’s “not permitted under the law” for the president-elect to fire him.
Trump also spoke with Meet the Press about his plans to enact sweeping tariffs.
Although his ideas have frequently varied in scope and size, Trump has floated general tariffs of up to 20% on imported goods, as well as up to 60% on China. In recent weeks, he’s threatened Canada and Mexico, the nation’s top trade partners, with 25% tariffs and China with 10% tariffs unless they meet his demands.
Experts say that tariffs would raise prices for American consumers on everyday purchases because businesses won’t be able to absorb the increased costs and instead pass some of the buck along. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects consumers to lose between $46 billion and $78 billion in annual spending power because of some of Trump’s proposed tariffs.
When asked about whether he could guarantee that families wouldn’t have to pay more, Trump said, “ I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow.” Later, during his interview, he claimed that tariffs “cost Americans nothing” during his first term, when the Trump administration imposed almost $80 billion worth of new tariffs on Americans.
“I think ‘tariffs’ are the most beautiful word. I think they’re beautiful,” he told NBC. “It’s going to make us rich. We’re subsidizing Canada to the tune over $100 billion a year. We’re subsidizing Mexico for almost $300 billion. We shouldn’t be.”
Both Canada’s prime minister and Mexico’s president met with Trump soon after he first threatened their countries with new tariffs.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said, “There will be no potential tariff war” between the U.S. and Mexico, following a phone call with Trump. She had earlier threatened to raise tariffs if the U.S. followed through with Trump’s threats.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and had what Trump called a “very productive meeting,” where they discussed issues ranging from energy and trade to fentanyl.
“We can’t have open borders,” Trump told NBC. ”And I said to the president of Mexico and to Justin Trudeau, ‘If it doesn’t stop, I’m going to put tariffs on your country at about 25%.’”