Trump CAN’T fire me: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell tells Congress he’d defy demand to ‘pack up and go’

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, said Wednesday he could not be fired by Donald Trump.

The Trump appointee told the panel at a House Financial Service committee hearing that he would not comply with the president if he were to call and ask him to pack up and leave his post at the Fed.

‘Of course I would not do that,’ Powell responded when queried by Maxine Waters, the Democratic congresswoman from California.

‘I can’t hear you,’ Waters said, urging a more enthusiastic response from the Federal Reserve chairman. 

California Congresswoman Maxine Waters asked Powell if he would listen to Trump if he told him to pack up and leave his post at the Fed

‘Of course I would not do that,’ Powell said when answering questions before the House Financial Services committee on Wednesday

 Last winter, Trump began asking aides if he would be able to fire Powell

‘The answer would be, ‘No,” Powell said.

Powell didn’t answer whether he believes Trump has the authority to fire him, but said he intended to serve out his full four-year term.

‘What I have said is the law gives me a four-year term and I fully intend to serve it,’ Powell said during Waters’ questioning.

Trump has spoken out, both in public remarks and on Twitter, several times against the central bank, pressuring for lower interest rates.

The chairman said the Fed doesn’t pay attention to any of the negative commentary and criticism from the president.

The president did not rule out the possibility last month of either demoting or firing the chairman of the Fed.

‘I have the right to demote him, I have the right to fire him,’ he told Fox Business in a June interview.

Trump frequently criticizes the Federal Reserve both publicly and in Twitter posts, claiming they need to lower interest rates. He told Fox Business last month he has ‘the right’ to either demote or fire Powell

Trump nominated Powell to succeed Janet Yellen as chairmen of the central bank in late 2017

Last year, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to prevent inflation, a move Trump has claimed has hurt the U.S. economy.

In late 2017, Trump nominated the Powell, an investment banker, to succeed Janet Yellen as chair of the Fed, the world’s most powerful central bank.

Powell indicated during his prepared remarks before Congress Wednesday that a rate cut is impending due to worldwide economic turmoil.

‘It appears that uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the US economic outlook,’ Powell said.

This is a reversal of his previous plans that would steadily raise rates this year.

Powell has brushed off Trump’s frequent attacks and steered clear of commenting on Trump’s aggressive stance on trade policies, he claimed the Federal Reserve does not pay attention to politics.

As he mounts his 2020 reelection campaign, Trump has lauded the economic growth that has transpired under him during his first term.

When the stock markets crash last winter amid threats of tariffs against China, Trump began to ask his advisers if he could remove Powell from his post at the central bank.

Trump perceives anything that attempts to rein in economic growth as potentially damaging to his popularity, and has even seen record-high levels of approval ratings in historically critical polls as the economy soars.