Fed Chairman Powell will be replaced within a year, Trump says

July 16 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said he won't fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell but will replace him within the next year when his four-year term ends.

A reporter asked Trump about rumors of his pending firing of Powell while the president fielded media questions prior to a luncheon and meeting with the Bahrain Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House on Wednesday.

"He's always been too late, hence, his nickname 'Too Late,'" Trump said of Powell.

"He should have cut interest rates a long time ago," Trump continued. "Europe has cut them 10 times in the short time that we have cut none.

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"The only time he cut them was just before the election to try and help Kamala [Harris], but, obviously, that didn't work," Trump said.

"He does a terrible job," Trump continued. "He's costing us a lot of money, and we fight through it."

He said the nation's economy is strong enough that the Federal Reserve's lending rate of between 4.25% and 4.5% doesn't affect the nation.

Instead, Trump said, it hurts those who want to buy a house by saddling them with a higher mortgage rate.

"He's a terrible Fed chair, Trump said. "I'm surprised that [President Joe] Biden extended him, but they did."

"We're not planning on doing anything," Trump said, but "we're very concerned."

Instead of firing Powell, Trump said his administration can "make a change in the next eight months or so."

Powell initially became the Federal Reserve chairman in 2018 after Trump nominated him for the position during the president's first term.

Biden nominated Powell for another four-year term, for which he was sworn in on May 23, 2022, and ends on May 15, according to the Federal Reserve.

Trump has denied he is planning to fire Powell, unless evidence of fraud arises, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

But on Tuesday, he asked some House Republicans if he should fire Powell and was told he should, CNBC and The Hill reported.

An unnamed participant said Trump told the group he would fire Powell, media reported.

Trump later denied he would fire Powell and said he has not drafted a letter to remove Powell from his chairmanship.

Trump on Wednesday acknowledged he asked the group of House Republicans "about the concept of firing" Powell, CBS News reported.

He said it only would happen if there were some cause, such as possible fraud involved in a $2.5 billion improvement project for the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"He's already under investigation," Trump said of Powell. "He spent far more money than he was supposed to rebuilding."

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought last week accused Powell of undertaking a renovation project that has lasted for years that might run counter to federal law, CBS News reported.

Powell in June told a Senate panel some of the criticisms of the renovation of the Federal Reserve's Washington, D.C., headquarters are "misleading and inaccurate."

Trump has criticized Powell for the Federal Reserve not lowering interest rates.

Powell has cited Trump's often-changing tariff policies as the reason for not lowering the Federal Reserve's lending rate.

Powell also has said he won't let politics influence the decisions of the independent Federal Reserve Board of Governors.