When asked, at the press conference following the central bank’s policy meeting, whether he would resign if asked to do so, Powell said: “No.”
CNN reported earlier Thursday, citing a senior advisor to Donald Trump, that the US President-elect will likely allow Jerome Powell to complete his term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The network quoted the senior advisor, who requested that his name not be published, that: Trump He may change his mind, but the current view of the president-elect and his economic team is that Powell should remain at the helm of the central bank until his term expires in May 2026.
Relations between Powell and Trump were tense during the Republican president’s first term, and there was widespread speculation that the president returning to the White House might try to fire Powell. The Federal Reserve Chairman said that the attempt to remove him before the end of his term is “not permissible under the law.”
Powell’s statements came after the US Federal Reserve’s decision today to reduce interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as was widely expected, to range between 4.50 percent and 4.75 percent.
The Fed’s decision, which comes the day after the former president’s victory Donald Trump In the presidential election, he indicates that he has ignored the political uncertainty in Washington and pushed ahead with the series of measures he began in September, when he began the monetary easing cycle with a massive interest rate cut of half a percentage point while simultaneously announcing his intention to make additional cuts before the end of the year. General.
Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections has reinforced speculation that the Federal Reserve may lower interest rates at a slower and less severe pace, as its policies on restricting illegal immigration and imposing new tariffs may increase inflation.
Powell said, in the press conference, that the US Central Bank does not currently take into account the results of the presidential elections in its options related to monetary policy.
He added: “In the short term, the elections will not have any impact on our decisions.”
He said: “We do not guess, speculate, or assume” what the administration’s future options will be, after former President Donald Trump returned to the White House again pledging policies that are likely to lead to an increase in the deficit and inflation.
Powell said that some downside risks to the economy have diminished amid stronger economic data, adding, “In general, I feel good about economic activity and I think we will take that into account” when making future policy decisions.
He added that no decision has been made about the type of measures the central bank will take at its meeting in December.
“We are prepared to adjust our assessment of the appropriate pace and target” of monetary policy amid the uncertainty, Powell said at the news conference.