Dem
47
GOP
53
Yeah, it's a weird headline. We agree. So why is this even a news story in the first place? Well, because Donald Trump told members of Congress yesterday that he drafted a letter firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, then he told other members that he wouldn't do it. Here is the result of a Google search for "Will Trump fire Powell?" yesterday.
As usual, very little of what Trump does is based on thinking it out in advance. Some people think he plays 4-D chess. Actually he plays tic-tac-toe and loses half the time. The reason he wants to fire Powell is that he wants to replace Powell with someone who will slash interest rates so the interest on the new $3 trillion in debt the BBB created will be lower. What every economist and the market understand is that very low interest rates will spark inflation and Trump will get blamed. If inflation is spiking in 2026, the Republicans could lose 40 or more seats in the House and control of the Senate. But Trump doesn't think 17 months ahead.
It is also possible that Powell might fight a firing. The president is allowed to fire the Fed chair only for cause—that is, because the Fed chair has failed to do his job. Policy differences on interest rates is not cause for firing. Powell could go to court to keep his job. He probably wouldn't do it for the money. He could easily triple his $250,600 salary working in the private sector. But he might feel an obligation to prevent Trump from ruining the economy by nominating some ding-a-ling to replace him and having a compliant Senate rubber stamp the nomination. To be continued. (V)