Trump doesn’t understand (nor respect) the role of the Fed.
Via Bloomberg: Trump Discusses Firing Fed’s Powell After Latest Rate Hike, Sources Say.
President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as his frustration with the central bank chief intensified following this week’s interest-rate hike and months of stock-market losses, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Advisers close to Trump aren’t convinced he would move against Powell and are hoping that the president’s latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays, the people said on condition of anonymity. Some of Trump’s advisers have warned him that firing Powell would be a disastrous move.
Yet the president has talked privately about firing Powell many times in the past few days, said two of the people.
It is not comforting that we should have to hope that “the president’s latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays” so that we can avoid him attempting to engage in behavior that the entire structure of the Federal Reserve was designed to avoid, as well as creating serious stress in financial markets (after an already abysmal December).
On the first count: the very design of the Federal Reserve is supposed to create distance between political considerations (i.e., what the President may want in terms of interest rates) and the professional consideration of the Board. This is one of the reasons the Board serves staggered, 14-year terms, so that no given president can fully influence its makeup or decision-making.
Indeed, as I understand the process, Trump cannot fire Powell. Rather, he would have to be removed by Congress.
