Trump says he would let Fed’s Powell finish term if he wins: report

Donald Trump will allow Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to complete his term at the central bank if he won the November election, the Republican presidential candidate told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview.

“I would let him serve it out, especially if I thought he was doing the right thing,” Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek. President Joe Biden nominated Powell to serve a second four-year term as Fed chief in May 2022.

Powell is also a Fed governor, a position he will hold until Jan. 31, 2028.

These comments mark an about-face from the former president, who has had a strained relationship with the central bank leader.

Powell took the helm as Fed chief in February 2018, and he had faced criticism from then-President Trump over the years on interest rate policy.

Back in 2019, Trump criticized the central bank and its leader — even as policymakers lowered rates three times that year, eventually to a target range of 1.5% to 1.75% — arguing the U.S. was at an economic disadvantage against other countries with lower rates.

As recently as February of this year, Trump told Fox Business that he would not reappoint Powell to lead the Fed. “I think he’s political,” he told journalist Maria Bartiromo. “I think he’s going to do something to probably help the Democrats, I think, if he lowers interest rates.”

Read the Bloomberg Businessweek article here.