CNBC | Wednesday, July 16, 2025 
Trump denies that he plans to fire Powell: ‘Highly unlikely’

Hours after President Donald Trump told a room full of Republican lawmakers that he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, he denied plans to do that. “We’re not planning on doing it,” he said Wednesday at the White House. “I don’t rule out anything,” he added, “but I think it’s highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.” At a meeting Tuesday evening in the Oval Office, Trump had asked a group of House Republicans if they thought he should fire Powell. After receiving support for the move, the president said he would follow through, according to a senior White House official. “The President asked lawmakers how they felt about firing the Fed Chair. They expressed approval for firing him. The President indicated he likely will soon,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly on the issue. The members had been invited to the White House to discuss crypto regulation bills that had stalled in the House. Separately, the New York Times reported that Trump has gone so far as to draft a letter for firing Powell, and that he showed it to lawmakers during the crypto meeting. A Fed official declined to comment on what happened during the Oval Office meeting. But Powell has said repeatedly that his firing is “not permitted under the law.” – Read more