Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., discusses the June CPI report and President Donald Trump calling on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates on ‘The Bottom Line.’
House lawmakers have agreed with President Donald Trump that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should be fired, but the president indicated he is not moving to oust Powell right now.
Trump asked a group of House Republicans during a meeting if he should remove Powell from his position, the president confirmed Wednesday at the White House.
“I talked about the concept of firing him and I said, ‘what do you think’? Almost every one of them said I should,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “But, I’m more conservative than they are.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell, who he appointed to the role in 2017, over the central bank not cutting interest rates according to his demands.
TRUMP SAYS FEDERAL RESERVE SHOULD LOWER INTEREST RATES BY 3 POINTS
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell holds a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump said Wednesday that Powell “should have cut interest rates a long time ago.”
“I think he does a terrible job. He’s costing us a lot of money, and we fight through it. It’s almost – the country has become so successful that it doesn’t have a big impact, but it does hurt people wanting to get a mortgage. People want to buy a house. He’s a terrible, he’s a terrible fed chair.”
Trump also said Powell is doing a “lousy job.”
POWELL ASKS FOR IG REVIEW AFTER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FLAGS FED’S COSTLY BUILDING RENOVATION
President Donald Trump is seen after announcing Jerome Powell as nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 2, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We want to see lower interest rates. Our country deserves it. We’re making a lot of money. We’re doing great as a country. We have no inflation. Record stock market, record business, record everything. Everything’s a record now,” Trump added.
“I was surprised he was appointed. I was surprised, frankly, that, Biden put him in and extended him,” Trump told reporters. “So no, we’re not planning on doing anything. We are very concerned.”
Just days ago, Trump said it would “be a great thing” for the U.S. if Powell were to step down, adding, “he’s very bad for the country.”
The president said Sunday that Powell is spending $2.5 billion to rebuild the Federal Reserve building yet does not look like the kind of guy who wants to spend $2.5 billion.
Construction on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, on Monday, July 14, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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When asked Wednesday if he is ruling out the idea of firing Powell, Trump said “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud. I mean, it’s possible there’s fraud involved with the $2.5, $2.7 billion renovation. This is a renovation. How do you spend $2.7 billion?”
