Trump Not To Oust Fed Chair Powell, Eyes JPMorgan's Dimon For Treasury Secretary
Donald Trump has said he would not attempt to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before the end of his term in 2026 and he would consider JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon for the position of treasury secretary if he wins the upcoming election on November 5.
Trump made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg, which was conducted in late June.
Powell, who was initially appointed to the Fed Board of Governors by President Barack Obama and later chosen by Trump to lead the central bank in early 2018, has faced considerable criticism from the Republican leader during his presidency, especially regarding interest rate hikes.
Trump continued to threaten Powell throughout his presidency, a practice President Joe Biden, Trump's successor, has refrained from during his term.
Despite previous threats to fire Powell, Trump acknowledged in the Bloomberg interview that he had come to understand he likely did not have the authority to do so.
On Monday, Powell reiterated that he has no intention of leaving his post before his term expires. He added that political considerations do not influence the Federal Reserve's decision-making process, especially regarding rate cuts leading up to the election.
Trump's consideration of Jamie Dimon for treasury secretary marks a notable shift from his earlier criticisms of the JPMorgan CEO.
Last year, Trump called Dimon a "Highly overrated Globalist" on his Truth Social platform.
Despite Dimon's condemnation of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, he has recently expressed support for some of Trump's policies.
"Take a step back, be honest. He was kind of right about NATO, kind of right on immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Trade tax reform worked. He was right about some of China," Dimon told CNBC earlier this year.
"He wasn't wrong about some of these critical issues."
In the same interview, Trump revealed his plans to reduce the corporate tax rate to as low as 15% and implement significant tariffs on imports.
He proposed new tariffs ranging from 60% to 100% on Chinese goods and a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports from other countries, citing concerns about the lack of foreign purchases of U.S. products.
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