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The president waved a copy of a draft letter firing Jerome H. Powell at a meeting in the Oval Office with House Republicans. It remains to be seen whether he follows through with his threat.
July 16, 2025Updated 11:51 a.m. ET
President Trump showed off a draft of a letter firing the chair of Federal Reserve, Jerome H. Powell, during a meeting with roughly a dozen House Republicans on Tuesday night, polling them as to whether he should do it and indicating that he likely would, according to two people briefed on the meeting.
The meeting in the Oval Office was on an unrelated topic — the House members’ apprehensions about a crypto-related piece of potential legislation. But Mr. Trump used the meeting to discuss what has become one of his favorite topics: his hatred of Mr. Powell, whom he elevated to chair in 2017, during his first presidency.
It remains to be seen whether Mr. Trump will actually go ahead with trying to fire Mr. Powell, a move that some in his administration have cautioned could be calamitous and have far more expansive fallout than the president appears to anticipate.
The president has in recent weeks called on Mr. Powell to resign, saying he has not done enough to lower interest rates. But as recently as Friday Mr. Trump said he had no plans to fire Mr. Powell, despite saying the Fed chair was doing a “terrible job.”
Some advisers to and allies of Mr. Trump insist he’s simply trolling Mr. Powell and hoping to torment the Fed chair but won’t actually follow through with trying to fire him.
But the existence of the letter — and Mr. Trump’s interest in discussing it — suggests that the president is engaging in the type of moves that he often does ahead of ultimately making a major decision.
