Has the Federal Reserve gone too far? Many Americans are critical of the Fed’s move to raise interest rates sharply, pause for years, and then slowly start implementing rate cuts. The arguably most prominent critic of the Fed? President-Elect Donald Trump, who, shortly after nominating the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell, reversed his opinion on whether Powell was the right person for the job.
Now, with Trump coming back to the White House, Powell’s job hangs in jeopardy—or does it? Can a President fire the Fed chair? Does the President have the authority to influence how the Fed operates? What would happen if Trump decided to go after Powell and request his resignation? Nick Timiraos, reporter at The Wall Street Journal and Federal Reserve expert, is on to answer these questions.
Nick gives us the latest update on rate cuts, where the Fed is headed, how the future of the Fed looks with Trump back in office, and why some politicians champion “Fed Independence,” while others argue that Fed power has overstepped its bounds. Are Trump and Powell more aligned than they think, and is this government drama all talk? We’re getting Nick’s expert viewpoint on it all.
Dave:
Last week, headlines swirled about whether Donald Trump would try to fire fed Chair Jerome Powell today to answer this question, I’m here with Nick Timiraos of the Wall Street Journal to talk about whether that’s possible, how this might play out and the future of the Federal Reserve. Hey friends, it’s Dave. You’re listening to On the Market, the Real Estate News and Economic shows for informed real Estate investors. Let’s get into my conversation with Nick. Nick, welcome back to the show. Thanks for joining us.
Nick:
Thanks for having me.
Dave:
So you’re here and I’m going to ask many questions about the future of the Fed, but maybe you can help bring us up to speed. We all know that there was a Fed meeting right after the presidential election. They cut the federal funds rate…