Trump has criticized Powell for months because the chair has kept the short-term interest rate the Fed controls at 4.3% this year, after cutting it three times last year. Powell says the Fed wants to see how the economy responds to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports, which Powell says could push up inflation.

President Donald Trump this week said he had discussed with a group of Republican lawmakers the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, before walking back such plans, calling them “highly unlikely.