New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman suggested that President Trump will be “cautious about crossing” the line with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and that inside the White House, there is a push to prevent his ouster.
Haberman said the president does not believe that there should be “pockets of independence,” particularly with people like Powell, whom he appointed during his first White House term.
“But again, there are Supreme Court cases that are ongoing right now related to independent agencies and what the limits of presidential power are. And the White House is mindful of that,” she said Thursday in an appearance on CNN’s “The Arena.”
“And so, while Trump may be personally disappointed, and he made very clear in the Oval Office that he is, I think that this is going to be something of a — of a line that he will be cautious about crossing,” she added.
Haberman continued, telling anchor Kasie Hunt that “given how unrestrained Trump has been in this term so far, I don’t want to suggest that something is … is not going to happen, but I don’t think it is going to happen anytime soon.”
The president has intensified his criticisms of Powell this week, slamming him on Thursday for not cutting interest rates, a day after the Fed chief asserted that Trump’s sweeping tariff agenda could stall economic growth and cause inflation to rise.
Trump’s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, chair of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters on Friday that the White House is looking into how to fire Powell, who has insisted he could not be terminated and that he would not leave his post until his term is up.
“Now, Kasie, the people that I have spoken to who are in touch with President Trump about this and are having conversations with him about it say he is not imminently going to try to push out Jerome Powell, bearing in mind that this is Donald Trump and things could change day to day,” Haberman said Thursday.
The veteran political reporter added that the White House is “well aware” that the financial markets are “struggling and know what the last two weeks since the administration rolled out its latest tariffs have looked like.
“So, while. Trump is frustrated and is going to say this publicly, there is an effort to try to keep him from doing this,” she added.