In a shocking statement, President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will not fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite the fact that the duo has bumped heads consistently.
While touring the renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters near the White House, Trump and Powell made headlines after the two appeared to disagree on specific figures concerning the renovation.
Trump has often criticized Powell and has called for him to step down.
“Mr. President, as a real estate developer, how would you deal with a project manager who is over budget?” a reporter asked the president.
“Generally speaking, what would I do? I’d fire them,” Trump replied.
“I don’t want to be personal,” he went on. “I just would like to see it get finished.”
Upon completing a tour of the site, Trump once again approached the media and was asked whether Powell should be terminated from his position.
“That is a big move, and I just don’t think it’s necessary. And I believe that he’s going to do the right thing,” Trump said.
As the New York Post pointed out, Trump’s remarks come after the president urged Powell to resign for refusing to lower interest rates.
The president said that “there was no tension” during his private meeting with Powell.
However, the pair disagreed with the $3.1 billion figure representing the costs associated with the renovation.
Upon entering the site, Trump called Powell over to his side.
“We’re with the chairman, as you know. Chairman, come over!” the president said. “We’re just taking a look at what’s happening. It’s a tough construction job. They’re building basements where they didn’t exist, or expanding them. A lot of very expensive work. There’s no question about it.”
Trump then discussed the costs of the project.
“It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion — [it] went up a little bit or a lot. So the $2.7 [billion] is now $3.1 [billion],” he said.
Powell, looking confused, disagreed.
“I’m not aware of that!” he said.
“It just came out,” Trump fired back.
“I haven’t heard that from anybody at the Fed,” Powell maintained.
Earlier this month, Trump called on Powell to “resign immediately.”
“Well, then he should resign immediately,” Trump said of Powell after a reporter said the Federal Reserve chairman was facing accusations of lying to Congress.
“We should get somebody in there that’s going to lower interest,” he added.
On July 10, Russel Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter to Powell, suggesting that he may have violated the law by not complying with government oversight regulations.
“The President is extremely troubled by your management of the Federal Reserve System,” Vought wrote. “Instead of attempting to right the Fed’s fiscal ship, you have plowed ahead with an ostentatious overhaul of your Washington D.C. headquarters.”
Interestingly, Trump nominated Powell to chair the Federal Reserve in November 2017. By February 2018, Powell assumed the role.
The post Trump Won’t Fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell Despite Previous Calls to Resign appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Anthony Gonzalez
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