President Donald Trump said Friday on Newsmax’s “Finnerty” that he is not removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his position despite calls for him to step down as it would reportedly “disturb the market.”
Tensions between Powell and the president began after Trump announced his sweeping reciprocal tariffs in April. The Fed chairman said he had concerns about how those tariffs would affect the U.S. economy. Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty asked the president why he won’t remove the Fed chairman from his position.
“They say it would disturb the market,” Trump said. “I would remove him in a heartbeat, but they say it would disturb the market. He gets out in seven or eight months, and I’ll put somebody else in.”
Trump repeatedly urged Powell to lower interest rates, citing his administration’s success on tariffs. During the Fed’s fourth meeting of 2025 in June, officials announced they would keep the target range at 4.25% to 4.5%. (RELATED: Hard-Hat Clad Jerome Powell Visibly Shakes His Head At Trump During Fed Building Tour)
By July 1, Powell claimed during a panel that the U.S. central bank would have already cut rates if Trump hadn’t imposed his “Liberation Day” tariffs, according to CNBC. Calls for an investigation into Powell followed, with Trump reposting an article in which the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency urged Congress to probe Powell’s spending on the Fed’s new headquarters.
Finnerty went on to ask the president if it’s possible to remove Powell due to having “cause,” as the new headquarters are costing an estimated total of over $2 billion.
“He’s building a building for 2.9 billion dollars, a renovation for 2.9 billion, the Fed. It’s not that intricate inside to start off with. I do a lot of that. I built a very successful hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue as a renovation, the old post office,” Trump said. “I know more about renovating buildings or building buildings than like anybody, maybe.”
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“I will tell you, he’s got 2.9 billion dollars that they’re spending in this thing. Really more than that, if you include the whole project,” Trump added. “It’s way over budget by hundreds of millions of dollars. He shouldn’t be doing that. It’s like it’s almost like he’s building a palace for himself, but he’s not going to be there much longer. Anyway, that’s the good news. He’ll never get to use it. No, the Fed rate is too high. Interest rates are too high. And despite that, we have a great economy.”
Following the calls to Congress for an investigation, Powell requested a review of the Fed’s estimated $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project after accusations the building was excessively lavish, according to Axios. However, on July 17, Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said she had officially referred Powell to the Department of Justice for an investigation into alleged perjury related to the new building.
“But Jerome Powell stays in place for now?” Finnerty asked.
“Well, it’s very disruptive,” Trump said. “So I would say most likely.”
During a recent press briefing on Wednesday, reporters pressed the Fed chairman on why he has not lowered interest rates. One question pointed to soaring mortgage rates. Powell said “housing is a special case,” adding the Fed doesn’t “set mortgage rates.”
Powell’s term is expected to end by May 15, 2026. He said he would not step down any sooner, according to Reuters.
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