By Seung Min Kim
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Trump confirmed Tuesday night at a White House meeting with about 12 House Republicans to discuss the “concept” of dismissing Powell.
“Nearly all of them said I should,” Trump said of the lawmakers who have come to talk to him about cryptography.
White House officials have shown he is leaning in that direction. During that session, Trump waving a letter about firing Powell, but those familiar with the matter said it was essentially a prop drafted by someone else and that the Republican president had not drafted such a letter.
Neither source was authorized to publicly discuss private meetings and spoke to the terms only about anonymity.
Trump made the “very unlikely” comment to dismiss Powell. “Unless you have to leave because of fraud” – at an oval office meeting with Bahrain’s crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa.
Recently, White House and administration officials have accused Powell of mismanaging a $2.5 billion renovation project with the Fed, and are trying to drive away politically independent central bankers, in addition to months of efforts by Trump.
US stocks were volatile as Trump spoke about Powell on Wednesday. The modest profits of the S&P 500 in the morning fell by 0.7% after initial reports that the president could fire the Fed Chairman. The stock then trimmed the loss after comments from Trump.
The Treasury also revolved in the bond market but remained mostly calm.
The people at the White House Congress were among the more far-right lawmakers, including members of the House Freedom, not always shared by other Republicans. In the Senate, Republicans are taking a more protected approach. Some people support Powell’s performance at the Fed as they await reviews from the construction project’s inspectors.
In his speech on Wednesday, RN.C. Sen. Tom Tillis of the group said if Powell is rejected, “You’re going to see a pretty immediate response.”
“If you think it’s a good idea to have the Fed become another agency of government that is targeted to the president, they’re making a big mistake,” said Tillis, who announced he wasn’t running for reelection.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said this week that Powell “doesn’t do a decent job.”
“I don’t think he was perfect,” he said.
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee were scheduled to meet with Powell at a rally several months ago on Wednesday evening, but were suddenly cancelled due to a vote in the House, according to a committee aide who was given anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
Associated Press Business Writer Stan Choe in New York, Associated Press Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to the report.
Original issue: July 16th, 2025, 1:54pm EDT
