In 2019, President Trump pressured Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, raising uncertainty about Powell's position. During a House hearing, Powell affirmed he would not resign if asked by Trump, emphasizing the legality of his term and his intention to serve it fully. Powell declared privately that he would never leave his position voluntarily, indicating a strong commitment to maintaining the Federal Reserve's independence and resisting external pressures from the executive branch.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled in 2019 that he would rather go down with the ship than save his own skin and compromise the independence of the central bank.
During a House Financial Services Committee hearing in July of that year, Powell was asked by then-Chairwoman Maxine Waters, 'If you get a call from the president today or tomorrow and he said 'I'm firing you. Pack up and it's time to go.' What would you do?' 'Of course I would not do that,' Powell replied.
According to the 2022 book Trillion Dollar Triage by Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos, he was even more adamant in private about not stepping down early.
'I will never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily until my term ends under any circumstances. None whatsoever. You will not see me getting in the lifeboat,' Powell told a reporter that spring.
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