ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, SAUL LOEB / AFP
Donald Trump in the oval office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 16, 2025, and the president of the American federal reserve Jerome Powell, at the Capitole in Washington, on June 24, 2025.
United States – As usual, he procrastinates. Donald Trump was surprised this Wednesday, July 16, that Jerome Powell was appointed to the presidency of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), apparently forgetting that he was the one who had appointed this person « horrible »in his words.
« I was surprised, frankly, that Joe Biden appointed him and extended his mandate ”he said. However, it was Donald Trump himself who initially named Jerome Powell at the head of the Fed in 2017. At the time, the American president had praised Jerome Powell as a unit with an approach “Strong, stable and wise” economic management. Joe Biden then renamed it in 2021.
All day long, the Republican blew hot and cold on the future of the president of the Fed, ensuring thinking about dismissing him before considering the possibility as “Very improbable”.
“Bad job”
During a press briefing at the White House, in the presence of the Crown Prince of Bahrain Salmane Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa, Donald Trump judged that Jerome Powell was doing “Bad job” but ensuring that he does not “Not talking” to dismiss him. However, he had explained a little earlier in the morning he was thinking about it, then stressing that he “Was nothing to do so”.
It is a form of retropedage on the part of the American president, who had expressed journalists that he considered that the cost of renovating the Fed buildings in Washington, could be “A reason to justify a dismissal”.
The works have already cost $ 2.5 billion, according to the management and budget office (OMB) of the White House, Donald Trump seeing it as poor use of federal funds. “I would not have imagined that he was going to spend $ 2.5 billion to build a small extension to the Fed”the President President had told the press from the White House. “Is this a reason to justify a dismissal?” I think it can be ”.
“He spent much more money than he was supposed to do so. Who wants to see the Fed spend so much money? It is supposed to come together, to say what interest rates do and a few other things very easy to do ”he added.
According to the White House, the American president met on Tuesday evening Republican elected officials in order to discuss with them the subject of dismissal, a source specifying to AFP that the president was thinking about doing so, even if it was not imminent.
“Too late Powell”
Donald Trump has also reproached Jerome Powell for several months, whom he nicknamed “Too late Powell”not to have dropped the interest rates of the central bank when, according to him, inflation is no longer a problem.
“I think it is one of the easiest jobs of the government. You come once a month, you make a statement about the state of the economy and if you are increasing or lower the rates. It is undoubtedly the simplest job I have ever seen ”said the American president.
The day before, he called on the Fed to lower its key rates, currently located in a range between 4.25 % and 4.50 %, three percentage points.
According to the CPI index published on Tuesday, inflation accelerated again in June, at 2.7 %, still far from the target of 2 % price increase, planned in the mandate in the American central bank. The Fed has maintained its unchanged rates since the start of the year in the face of the persistence of inflation.
