President Trump has been frustrated by Fed Chair Jerome Powell since Trump’s first term in the White House. Trump nominated Powell to serve as Fed chair in 2017, replacing Janet Yellen. However, he soon soured on his pick, repeatedly attacking Powell on Twitter for raising interest rates too quickly.
In 2018, Trump was so frustrated with Powell that he asked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to tell Powell “that I will repudiate his nomination, even though it has already been confirmed.” Ross claimed that after some pushback, he eventually did call Powell with the message. Powell shortly after did reverse his policy stance, but ostensibly in response to a weakening economy rather than political pressure. Trump went so far as to consider firing Powell in late 2018, an unprecedented move that could have risked roiling financial markets and compromising the Fed’s independence.
Trump’s Twitter tirades against Powell continued throughout 2018 and 2019, accusing the Fed chair of raising interest rates too fast and not doing enough to “juice the economy” to accommodate Trump’s trade war with China. However, Trump’s tone softened when the Fed did eventually ease monetary policy. Trump even expressed satisfaction with Powell’s performance in mid-2020.
Here we go again. Consider the following chronology of events in the relations between Trump and Powell this year:
