If President Donald Trump wanted to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he would need to do it for cause. But one unnamed Republican staffer is now suggesting that even the flimsiest justification would suffice.
In a Thursday article for Semafor, reporters Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott and Burgess Everett wrote that while Trump has said he is unlikely to follow through on his earlier threats to fire Powell, he may have found a reason to do so outside of his persistent calls to Powell to lower interest rates (Powell has maintained that prematurely lowering rates would make inflation spike and cause greater harm to the economy). Powell's term isn't due to expire until May of 2026, and he'll remain on the Fed's Board of Governors until 2028.
The administration has reportedly now honed in on Federal Reserve's costly renovation — which Semafor reports is around $2.5 billion — as a way to justify a potential sacking of the Fed chief. White House officials say the cost of the Fed headquarters' renovation is "definitely a point of concern" for them. But some Republicans aren't so sure about firing Powell under those circumstances, citing the importance of the Fed remaining an independent institution.
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“I believe in an independent central bank, very much so,” a House Republican anonymously told Semafor. “Markets believe in that; the financial system believes in that; and it’s served America well. It makes us the strongest country in the world, because we have that independent central bank.”
Staffers were also vocal about the potential firing of the Fed chair. One senior-level Republican aide called the rationale for Powell's possible termination "beyond f---ed." A separate unnamed congressional Republican staffer told the outlet that it "seems like [White House officials] just want to find any reason" to fire Powell.
“the building’s foundation is a mess,” the first anonymous congressional aide said of the renovations. “They had to lift up the building, replace the foundation, then renovate it.”
Even some of Trump's biggest supporters in Congress have publicly warned him against firing Powell. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) said earlier this week that Powell's termination would cause significant harm to both the stock market and simultaneously provoke panic among bond investors. He also told Semafor that if Powell were fired and took the administration to court, the White House would lose.
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Click here to read Semafor's full report.