Trump Drops a Truth on Powell
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is the latest target of a Donald Trump “Truth Bomb” barrage on his Truth Social platform.
Powell had delivered a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago the day before in which he was not overly enthusiastic about the president’s Liberation Day tariff strategy. Powell suggested that he had a dilemma: try to tame inflation or increase growth in the economy.
To that, President Trump said, so what? (So to speak.)
The president has been a skeptic of Powell for some time, and the world was reminded of that today when Trump unleashed this blistering Truth post:
The ECB [European Central Bank] is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, “Too Late” Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete “mess!” Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!
So, Trump wants rate cuts now or perhaps he’ll fire Powell. So, the question becomes, would Trump actually do it? Powell is basically a lame duck. His term ends the summer of 2026. So, should we just start planning for the next guy? That is not how Trump Time works. Donald Trump likes to move fast and break things, and the summer 2026 is an eternity away for him and quite close to the midterm elections that could threaten Trump’s economy and legacy with a Democrat victory.
So, if you’re a betting man/woman/two spirit person, you bet Powell is out, right?
Not so fast.
What the Constitution Says
Trump might not be able to remove Powell as easily as he can the other agency heads. This is because the other agency heads are very clearly executive agencies, exercising executive power and therefore falling under the president’s authority. Congress encroaches on presidential authority if it tries to limit when the president can remove executive agency heads.
But is the Fed exercising executive authority when it makes monetary policy? It's debatable (read: probably not). The Fed is doing something that the Constitution assigns to Congress in Article I, Section 8, Clause 5: “[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; ...”
That suggests Congress is in charge of monetary policy because what the Fed does when it sets interest rates is more or less regulating the value of the money.
President Donald Trump looks on as his nominee for the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, takes to the podium during a press event in the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
If we at the Breitbart Business Digest are right about this, Congress has a lot more authority to provide (read: guarantee) a fixed term for the Fed chairman than for other agency heads.
So, what is Trump really up to? In all honesty, it’s hard to say. Perhaps he thinks he can bend Powell to his will. He’s done that before. Perhaps he’s laying tracks to blame Powell if any prolonged economic struggles are ahead. Or perhaps he really will fire him.
It’s generally a mistake to take Trump literally, but we should always take him seriously. There’s no doubt that he believes his economy would be on stronger footing with lower interest rates, and he will take whatever steps he legally can to get them.
He does not want to wait for Jerome Powell.
The question is: will Trump remain patient or will he try to take action? And if he tries to take action, what can he actually do?
Watch this space to find out.
John Carney contributed to this report.
