President
Donald Trump said Saturday he had the power to
fire or demote Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, adding new fuel to his long-running animus toward the central bank’s leader at a moment when the
economy was at risk of edging into recession.
Trump told reporters that he wasn’t considering firing Powell, but reiterated his frustration with the chairman.
“I have the right to do that or the right to remove him as chairman,” Trump said Saturday at a news conference called to provide an update on the administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.