Sen. Bernie Moreno calls for Fed chair Powell to resign

Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio has called for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign, saying his “personal feelings” are keeping the interest rates up.

In a letter sent to the central bank chairman Wednesday, Mr. Moreno said Mr. Powell’s “willful ignorance of these facts and your choice not to lower interest rates despite the Trump administration’s economic progress is costing our country $400 billion per year.”

“Clearly your relationship with the president, your inaction on rates, and your mismanagement of the Federal Reserve balance sheet all lead to an obvious conclusion,” he wrote. “You should resign immediately and allow the president the deference to select someone he feels can make the changes needed to restore the credibility of the Federal Reserve System.”

Mr. Moreno has been critical of Mr. Powell for weeks and has tried to recruit his fellow senators to force Mr. Powell out.

So far, GOP Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Rick Scott of Florida have also called for Mr. Powell to step down.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing last month, Mr. Moreno questioned Mr. Powell about why he has not supported the lowering of rates, despite relatively low inflation and Mr. Trump calling for rates to be lowered.

He said Mr. Powell had a lack of concern regarding Biden-era decisions that caused inflation to rise, like the COVID lockdown, ban on liquid natural gas exports, and other moves.

The Ohio Republican sent his first letter to Mr. Powell on June 18, sharing his concern over his refusal to lower the rate.

Mr. Powell said last week that Mr. Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have forced the central bank to take its time in cutting interest rates.

“In effect, we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs and, essentially, all inflation forecasts for the U.S. went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs,” Mr. Powell said during a panel discussion at the European Central Bank’s retreat in Portugal. “We didn’t react at all, we’re simply taking some time.”

“As long as the economy is in a solid shape, we think the prudent thing to do is to wait and learn more and see what those effects might be,” Mr. Powell said.

In June, the Fed kept the benchmark interest rate at 4.25% to 4.5%, angering Mr. Trump, who has started calling Mr. Powell “Too Late.”

The president sent a note to Mr. Powell last week criticizing his refusal to lower the rates.

“Jerome — You are, as usual, ‘Too Late’. You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so. You should lower the rate - by a lot!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Mr. Trump at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday said he thinks Mr. Powell is “terrible.”

The federal government pays interest on its massive borrowing, costs which rise or fall with the rate set by the Fed.

Mr. Powell has said he will finish out his term, which ends in May 2026. He was nominated by Mr. Trump in 2017 and appointed to another four years by then-President Biden in 2022.

The Fed is an independent agency and is supposed to be free from political influence and pressure. The president appoints the Fed chairman every four years, but doesn’t have the authority to fire them.