Trump Criticizes Fed Policy But Signals Powell Likely to Stay, For Now

President Donald Trump reportedly signaled Friday that he is not currently planning to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, despite expressing ongoing frustration with Powell’s handling of interest rates and what the president sees as costly mismanagement at the central bank.

In an interview with Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty, Trump once again took aim at the Fed’s high interest rates, which he argues are unnecessarily constraining economic growth.

“The Fed rate is too high,” Trump said. “Interest rates are too high, and despite that, we have a great economy.”

When asked directly whether Powell would remain in his role, Trump responded with uncharacteristic restraint. “Well, it’s very disruptive if you fire,” he said. “So, I would say most likely, yeah.”

Trump’s comments suggest that while he continues to view Powell’s leadership skeptically, he recognizes the potential market turbulence that a dramatic move like firing the Fed chair could create.

That stance may bring a measure of stability to financial markets, which have been rattled by a worse-than-expected July jobs report and sharp downward revisions to earlier employment data from May and June.

Appointed by Trump in 2018, Powell’s term as Fed chair runs through May 2026. While the president cannot remove him without cause — a legal standard that would be difficult to meet — speculation has persisted about whether Trump might test that boundary, particularly as he seeks to maintain the momentum of a strong economy heading into his re-election campaign.

In recent weeks, Trump has publicly criticized Powell for overseeing expensive renovations to the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., raising the issue during a recent site tour alongside the chair.

Powell reportedly pushed back on some of Trump’s claims regarding cost overruns, adding a rare moment of direct public tension between the two.

The president’s sharpest response to Friday’s dismal jobs data came not in monetary policy but in a personnel decision: the abrupt firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

Trump accused her of failing to deliver accurate numbers and, in a post on Truth Social, claimed she had “faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”

While the charge lacks substantiation, it reflects Trump’s broader frustrations with what he has repeatedly characterized as politicized federal agencies.

For the moment, Powell remains in his post — but Trump’s message was clear: the Fed’s course needs to change.