(Politico) - Former President Donald Trump would let Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell finish his term at the central bank if he is reelected, though he doesn’t think the Fed should cut interest rates before November, he told Bloomberg Businessweek.
“I would let him serve it out,” Trump said, adding: “especially if I thought he was doing the right thing,” according to Bloomberg, reporting on a conversation from June. Powell’s term as chair ends in May 2026, while his seat on the Fed board does not expire until 2028.
The presumptive GOP nominee’s remarks suggest that he may not go further than he did in his first term, when he regularly lambasted the Fed chief on Twitter and even considered removing him — but ultimately decided not to. Trump has previously maintained that he has the legal authority to demote Powell, though the law is unclear on that point.
Markets broadly expect the Fed to begin cutting interest rates in September, something Trump warned against in the interview. Any move to ease off the economy would likely boost the stock market and cause rates, like mortgages, to drop.
“It’s something that they know they shouldn’t be doing,” he said of reducing rates before the election, according to Bloomberg. (Powell and other Fed officials have said their decision will be driven by economic data, not the political timeline.)
In the interview with the magazine, Trump also endorsed lowering the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, from 21 percent now, and said he would consider appointing JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon as Treasury secretary.
By Victoria Guida
