Trump Reportedly Fuming at Fed Chair Powell, Has Talked About Firing Him

One of the most chaotic weeks of Donald Trump‘s presidency is ending not just with a partial government shutdown, but news he’s looking to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Bloomberg broke some stunning news last night about Trump’s anger at Fed chair Jerome Powell.

This comes as no surprise, of course, given what he publicly told the Washington Post last month:

When asked about declines on Wall Street and GM’s announcement that it was laying off 15 percent of its workforce, Trump responded by criticizing higher interest rates and other Fed policies, though he insisted that he is not worried about a recession.

“I’m doing deals, and I’m not being accommodated by the Fed,” Trump said. “They’re making a mistake because I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me.”

He added: “So far, I’m not even a little bit happy with my selection of Jay. Not even a little bit. And I’m not blaming anybody, but I’m just telling you I think that the Fed is way off-base with what they’re doing.”

But after the latest rate hike, Trump is fuming at Powell and talking to people about firing him. Per Bloomberg:

Advisers close to Trump aren’t convinced he would move against Powell and are hoping that the president’s latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays, the people said on condition of anonymity. Some of Trump’s advisers have warned him that firing Powell would be a disastrous move.

Yet the president has talked privately about firing Powell many times in the past few days, said two of the people.

CNN independently confirmed the reporting and noted that “the White House hasn’t come to a final legal determination on Trump’s authority to fire his Fed chairman.”

[photo via Getty Images]