Could Jay Powell Restrain Trump? -- The American Prospect

[erronis]

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-04-11-could-jay-powell-restrain-trump/
Robert Kuttner

Today on TAP: Trump’s destructive tariff policies could well require emergency Fed intervention that Powell doesn’t want. Will the Fed chair have the nerve to challenge Trump?

Not surprisingly, Trump’s tariff “pause” has failed to reassure either trading partners or financial markets. His comment to a Republican gathering that other countries are “kissing my ass, they are dying to make a deal” has backfired.

Other national leaders, mistrusting Trump’s capacity for keeping his word (and his sanity) are not in fact behaving like, say, the craven presidents of Harvard and Columbia Universities. They see Trump’s capitulation as a sign of weakness and are likely to drive tougher bargains. The escalating trade war with China adds to the instability.

As financial markets continue to gyrate, the role of one key player, Fed Chair Jay Powell, is worth a closer look.

Trump has been pressuring Powell to cut interest rates. But that would only serve to enable Trump’s trade war by cushioning its economic impact. Powell has been firm in asserting his independence on monetary policy. As Trump’s tariffs result in higher inflation, it’s unlikely that Powell will abandon his inflation targets. (Sure enough, the University of Michigan survey of inflation expectations just came in at 6.7 percent, the highest level since 1981.)

. . .

I wonder if it's harder not bend the knee (obsequiousness) when you are an organization within the US that can also be threatened by the boss's goons.

Good discussion about whether the dictator can actually replace Powell, but we all know that all rules are meant to be broken.

[aeromanKC]

1. Could ____________ restrain Trump? Answer: NO

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Trump will just fire Powell. Can't do it? He'll do it anyway.