Bessent: Trump ‘not going to fire’ Powell

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Wednesday that President Trump isn’t going to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but suggested the pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates will continue.

Bessent was asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” if the president should say he will let Powell finish his term to give certainty to the markets, after indications he would try to fire the head of the central bank have rattled them. The secretary pushed back on the question.

“I’m not sure where that question comes from, because President Trump has repeatedly said he’s not going to fire Chair Powell,” Bessent said. “He might like for him to resign, but he’s not going to fire him. He’s said that on numerous occasions. I think he may have even said it again yesterday.”

The president said Tuesday he doesn’t think Powell should resign before his term is up in May but bashed him for not lowering interest rates.

“I think he’s doing a bad job, but he’s going to be out soon anyway. In eight months, he’ll be out,” the president said.

When asked about the pressure campaign on the Fed chair to lower rates, Bessent said it is part of the role.

“I think anyone who goes into public service should expect pressure. I get pressure from the president, from the Congress, from constituents,” Bessent said.

Trump last week indicated to Republicans during a meeting in the Oval Office that he plans to fire Powell, a senior White House official told The Hill, and markets quickly dipped, with the S&P 500 falling into the red. He said later that day it is “highly unlikely,” but he doesn’t “rule out anything.”

While he appeared to reach a breaking point with Powell, he has since backed off amid warnings about how such a move would impact the markets from officials and outside voices.