Stephen Groves, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has won some key support from Capitol Hill from GOP senators when President Donald Trump chases threats to eliminate politically independent central bankers.
It appears Trump has spoken this week to try to reject the Fed’s chairman, and some Republicans in Congress have begun warning that such a move is wrong. If Trump fires Powell, the Fed could eliminate independence from political influence and inject uncertainty into the foundations of the US economy.
“If anyone thinks 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,” GOP North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis said in a speech on the floor.
Scale of support from GOP members on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs showed that traditional Republicans were careful to navigate the presidency that often leads to sudden tariffs and firing ideas such as Fed chairs.
Tillis, who recently decided not to seek reelection after a clash with Trump, later told The Associated Press that economic fallout from Powell’s firing would hurt “a little guy like me who grew up in a trailer park with a thousand dollars at 401K.”

He also pointed out that the fundamental complaint Trump has with the Fed — reluctant to cut interest rates — is not just a committee of Powell, but a 12-member.
“The market expects an independent central bank,” said GOP South Dakota Sen. Minecround. “And if they had thought for a moment that he was not independent, it would incantate the prediction and integrity of the decisions made by the bank.”
Still, many other Republicans think that dismissing Powell is a great idea.
“The most incompetent and worst Federal Reserve Chairman in American history should resign,” said GOP Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno.
Trump said he was encouraged to fire Powell during a meeting with about 12 far-right House members Tuesday evening.
Does the president have the authority to fire the Fed’s chair?
R-La. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he was “displeased with leadership” at the Fed, but added that he “we’re not honestly told whether that enforcement agency exists or not.”
French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, stresses that the president has no authority to fire the Fed Chairman, but is also sympathetic to Trump’s complaints about Powell’s leader. He and other Republicans have also pointed out that Powell’s term as a chair is over next year anyway, and Trump says he’ll have the opportunity to name his new chair then.
When Congress launched the Federal Reserve more than a century ago, its governor and chairman isolated it from political pressure by providing that only “because” could be fired. However, the Trump administration piloted to meet that standard by accusing Powell of mishandling a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Fed headquarters.
“When his first attempt at bullying Powell failed, Congressional Trump and Republicans suddenly decided to look at how much the Fed is spending on renovations to the building,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Wednesday. “Independence does not mean immunity, I have long pushed more transparency and accountability at the Fed, but give me a break.”
After Powell sent a letter to Congress detailing some of the renovation projects, Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, issued a brief statement saying Scott “continuing to call for greater transparency and accountability in the Federal Reserve, which coincides with the improved communication and transparency he is looking for.”
Avoid long legal battles
Anyway, it would be legally suspicious to fire Powell for renovations.
“It’s going to be sued, and I have no reason to rule him out or any other reason,” Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican on the Senate Committee that oversees the Fed, told reporters this week.
He said, “I got it, but I think it’s very important that the Fed remains independent,” adding that he understands the president’s “frustration” by resisting the Fed’s efforts to curb inflation.
Even Republicans who claimed the president had a basis for firing Powell have admitted that he had criticised the central bankers was still a painful step.
“It’s a decision the president will make and he’s been very cautious about it,” said Ohio Sen. Moreno, who called for Powell to resign. “But I don’t think we should put that country in one of them.”
Original issue: July 17, 2025, 8:09am EDT