After a boring half-hour conference in which the president of the US Federal Reserve (FED), Jerome Powell, commented, on Thursday, November 7, the drop of a quarter of a point in the official interest rates of the monetary institution , decided as planned by the US central bank – the question has finally been asked: will he resign if President Donald Trump asks him to? Answer : ” No. “ Do you have the right? ” No “Mr. Powell continued dryly, stating that it was not “not permitted by law”.
Thus, the head of the Federal Reserve affirmed his independence, two days after the triumphant election of Donald Trump. During his first term, the Republican president had explored the possibility of removing Powell, a moderate Republican whom he had appointed in 2018, and recently declared again that he would like to have a say in US monetary policy.
Legal experts believe that Donald Trump cannot fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve without serious cause. His term extends until 2026 while he is appointed to the institution’s board of governors until 2028. During the term that Donald Trump will assume on January 20, 2025, only one position on this board expires. Even if he manages to appoint a new president, the Republican will not have the opportunity to reshape the council, part of which is made up of professionals from regional central banks.
This Thursday, when asked about the risks of interference from the president, Powell, decidedly not talkative, responded: “Today I am not going to address any political issue. »
Allow yourself a few moments of respite
To be beyond reproach and not give influence or pretext to Donald Trump’s foreseeable attacks, Jerome Powell remained as technical as possible, refusing to pronounce the president-elect’s name. However, the latter’s policy, which has promised to reduce taxes and introduce a customs tariff on imports of at least 10%, may accentuate the country’s budget deficit and revive inflation.
Response from the head of the Federal Reserve: “In the short term, the elections will have no effect on our political decisions. [monétaire]. Beyond that, we don’t know what the timing and content of the policy changes will be. Therefore, we do not know what the effects will be on the economy and whether and to what extent these policies will affect the achievement of our goals of maximum employment and controlled inflation. We don’t make assumptions. We are not speculating. »
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