Economic Council Head Says Trump's Ability To Fire Fed's Powell Is 'being Looked Into'

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that nan president’s authority to occurrence Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was “being looked into.”

Asked successful an question and reply connected ABC News’ “This Week” whether he believes President Donald Trump has nan authority to occurrence Powell, whom nan president has many times bashed complete liking rates, Hassett said, “That’s a point that’s being looked into.”

“But surely if there’s cause, he does,” Hassett added.

Hassett’s comments travel days aft Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought criticized renovations of nan Federal Reserve headquarters, saying successful a missive to Powell that Trump was “extremely troubled by your mismanagement of nan Federal Reserve System.”

Vought sent Powell astir a twelve questions astir nan renovations, asking for specifications astir whether nan task deviated from plans approved by nan National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees nan creation of national projects.

Asked whether nan value tag of nan renovations could beryllium utilized to occurrence Powell, Hassett said, “I deliberation that whether nan president decides to push down that roadworthy aliases not is going to dangle a batch connected nan answers that we get to nan questions that Russ Vought sent to nan Fed.”

Trump has consistently slammed Powell for not lowering liking rates, calling nan chair “very stupid” and dubbing him “Too Late Powell.” Powell has said that nan Federal Reserve has held disconnected connected cutting liking rates because of Trump’s tariffs, pointing to higher ostentation forecasts. The president told NBC News precocious past year, that he did not person plans to trim short Powell’s term, which ends successful May 2026.

But since then, nan president has indicated he wanted Powell out. He said successful an April post to Truth Social that “Powell’s termination cannot travel accelerated enough,” though days later he told reporters that he had “no intention” of firing him.

The Supreme Court successful May allowed nan president to occurrence members of independent national agencies, though nan tribunal indicated that nan determination did not needfully use to nan Federal Reserve because it is simply a “uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.”

Neither nan White House nor nan Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors instantly responded to requests for further remark connected Hassett’s remarks.

Steep tariffs connected Brazil

Whiplash connected steep country-by-country tariffs — now group to spell into effect on Aug. 1 — person raised questions astir nan authorities of imaginable waste and acquisition deals. The management has pointed to waste and acquisition deficits arsenic a superior logic for steep tariffs connected imports from galore countries, and officials person maintained that negotiations complete waste and acquisition practices are ongoing.

But Trump brought a country’s soul practices into nan equation past week erstwhile he announced that he would deed imports from Brazil pinch a 50% tariff. In Trump’s missive detailing nan tariff rate, he criticized nan curen of erstwhile President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing charges for allegedly plotting a coup to support powerfulness aft a 2022 electoral defeat. Trump said nan tariff complaint was “due successful portion to Brazil’s insidious attacks connected Free Elections.”

“Normally, it’s not needfully astir a circumstantial country, but pinch Brazil, it is,” Hassett told “This Week” big Jonathan Karl. “Their actions person shocked nan president astatine times, and he’s made them clear astir that.”

Asked astir nan authority nether which Trump could enforce tariffs based connected a country’s judicial system, Hassett said, “If he thinks it’s a nationalist defense emergency, aliases if he thinks a nationalist information threat, past he has nan authority nether IEEPA,” referring to nan International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Karl asked Hassett really Brazil’s handling of a criminal lawsuit constituted a nationalist information threat, prompting Hassett to say, “Well, that’s not nan only thing.”

Pressed again connected Trump’s letter, which specifically addressed Bolsonaro, Hassett pivoted to discussing waste and acquisition deficits.

“The bottommost statement is that what we’re doing, absolutely, collectively, crossed each country, is we’re onshoring accumulation successful nan U.S. to trim nan nationalist emergency that is that we person a monolithic waste and acquisition shortage that’s putting it astatine consequence should we request accumulation successful nan U.S. because of a nationalist information crisis,” Hassett said.

The U.S., however, had a $7.4 cardinal waste and acquisition surplus pinch Brazil past year, according to nan Office of nan U.S. Trade Representative, which Karl pointed out.

Hassett responded to Karl’s interjection astir nan United States’ waste and acquisition surplus pinch Brazil, saying, “If you don’t person an wide strategy for this, past there’ll beryllium trans shipping and everything else, and you won’t execute your objectives.”