Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has dismissed speculation that president-elect Donald Trump could fire him
He told reporters on Thursday that it was “not permitted under law” for the White House to kick him out as chairman of the central bank.
Trump reportedly sought advice on whether he could fire Powell during his first term as president, having referred to bank officials as “boneheads”.
Powell batted off speculation of such a move this time around though, responding to questions from reporters that he would not step down.
This came after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to a targeted range of 4.50% to 4.75% on Thursday.
Discussing the central bank’s outlook under Trump, Powell said: “It's such an early stage - we don't know what the policies are, we don't know when they will be implemented”.
“In the near term, the election will have no effects on our policy decisions.”