Can Trump Push Jerome Powell Out of the Fed? w/WSJ's Nick Timiraos

Has the Federal Reserve gone too far? Many Americans are critical of the Fed’s move to raise interest rates sharply, pause for years, and then slowly start implementing rate cuts. The arguably most prominent critic of the Fed? President-Elect Donald Trump, who, shortly after nominating the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell, reversed his opinion on whether Powell was the right person for the job. Now, with Trump coming back to the White House, Powell’s job hangs in jeopardy—or does it? Can a President fire the Fed chair? Does the President have the authority to influence how the Fed operates? What would happen if Trump decided to go after Powell and request his resignation? Nick Timiraos, reporter at The Wall Street Journal and Federal Reserve expert, is on to answer these questions. Nick gives us the latest update on rate cuts, where the Fed is headed, how the future of the Fed looks with Trump back in office, and why some politicians champion “Fed Independence,” while others argue that Fed power has overstepped its bounds. Are Trump and Powell more aligned than they think, and is this government drama all talk? We’re getting Nick’s expert viewpoint on it all.

Episode 1047 of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast podcast, hosted by BiggerPockets, titled "Can Trump Push Jerome Powell Out of the Fed? w/WSJ's Nick Timiraos" was published on November 22, 2024 and runs 30 minutes.

November 22, 2024 ·30m · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Summary

Has the Federal Reserve gone too far? Many Americans are critical of the Fed’s move to raise interest rates sharply, pause for years, and then slowly start implementing rate cuts. The arguably most prominent critic of the Fed? President-Elect Donald Trump, who, shortly after nominating the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell, reversed his opinion on whether Powell was the right person for the job. Now, with Trump coming back to the White House, Powell’s job hangs in jeopardy—or does it? Can a President fire the Fed chair? Does the President have the authority to influence how the Fed operates? What would happen if Trump decided to go after Powell and request his resignation? Nick Timiraos, reporter at The Wall Street Journal and Federal Reserve expert, is on to answer these questions. Nick gives us the latest update on rate cuts, where the Fed is headed, how the future of the Fed looks with Trump back in office, and why some politicians champion “Fed Independence,” while others argue that Fed power has overstepped its bounds. Are Trump and Powell more aligned than they think, and is this government drama all talk? We’re getting Nick’s expert viewpoint on it all.  In This Episode We Cover: Why “Fed Independence” could actually be a crucial piece to keeping the economy stable  Whether or not Trump has the authority to fire and replace a Fed chair  Future rate cuts, inflation concerns, and the Fed’s latest “signal” on rates  Powell’s simple response when asked if he would resign because of Trump’s request  Why the Fed does NOT have to answer to the President (and is this a good thing?) Trump’s proposed tax and tariff policies and why they could challenge the Fed And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Nick’s WSJ Articles Grab Dave’s New Book, “Start with Strategy” Find Investor-Friendly Lenders Trump May Consider Shaking Up the Federal Reserve If Elected—Here’s What That Could Look Like Connect with Dave (00:00) Intro (01:52) Latest Fed Meeting Update (03:04) More Rate Cuts Coming? (05:07) Can Trump Change the Fed? (08:45) Is the Fed Above the Law? (16:42) Can Trump Fire Powell? (18:53) What Happens Next? (24:52) Trump's Tricky Policies Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1047 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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