United States President Donald Trump suggested that federal renovation planning of $ 2.5 billion could be sufficient reason to dismiss Fed President Jerome Powell after a climb of his recent attacks against the central banker.
“I think he was terrible … But the only thing I didn’t see about him was a guy who needed a palace to live in,” Trump told reporters. “The only thing I would ever imagine is that he would spend two and a half billions to build a small extent of the Fed.”
Hours later, Trump granted a press conference in which he said it was “unlikely” Powell’s resignation from the Fed, but did not rule out that he thinks of making that decision later.
When asked reporter if the amount expected for the reform was a dismissal offense, Trump said, “I think it’s more or less.”
White -tier employees have accused the Fed of managing the project badly, and some Republicans said Powell lied to Congress when he said the renovation will not include some of the improvements described in the 2021 planning documents such as Italian hives and new marble finishes.
Trump did not specify what would specifically justify Powell’s resignation.
Wear
Trump has been criticizing Powell for months, requiring lower interest rates. But US BC authorities maintained stable rates this year, to the Republican’s wrath.
The growing attacks raised concerns that the data -dependent Fed can see its corroded independence. This is because markets favor independent central banks – monetary authorities that define interest rates based on clear data and mandates rather than political considerations potentially promoted by elected authorities.
“The independence of the Fed is absolutely critical, not just for the current president, who I respect, but for the neighbor,” Jupmorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, one of Wall Street’s most prominent leaders, reporters on a teleconference on Tuesday.
“Playing with the Fed can often have adverse consequences, absolutely opposed to what you could expect,” he continued.
Trump admitted that the most personal attacks and Powell pressure campaigns did not earn him the lower interest rates he wants. The reforms emerged as a more recent offensive line against the Fed President.
Powell requested the Central Bank inspector-general to conduct an additional revision of the ongoing reform, the CNN previously. Last month, some Senate parliamentarians questioned Powell about what they described as sumptuous reforms at their Washington, DC headquarters at the semiannual monetary policy hearing.
The Fed renewal project was approved by the board in 2017 and originally cost $ 1.9 billion in 2019. Construction began in 2021, but the cost increased to $ 2.5 billion due to “unforeseen conditions” that required more spending to be corrected.
For a long time Trump directs his frustrations to Powell, calling him everything, “idiot” to “asshole”. Powell publicly said that if it wasn’t for the chairman announced by the president, the Fed would have already reduced interest rates this year and that Fed authorities are waiting to see the impact of this ongoing tariffs before deciding to reduce interest rates.
Trump disagrees. “We should be 1%,” said the president at a lunch on Monday. “We should be below 1%,” he concluded next.
John Towfighi, from CNN, contributed to this report.
