Trump Threat To Fire Fed Chair Powell Could Tank The Economy Even Faster

The president’s trade war against the planet is already roiling markets, and an attempt to replace Powell would make things even worse, economists warn.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s trade war against all comers is likely already bringing on a recession, and his threat Thursday to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board is only making a bad situation worse, economists warned.

“It would be a ‘lunatics in charge of the asylum’ moment,” said Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, who predicted a shock to the system as big or even bigger than its reaction to Trump’s massive new tariffs. “Bond yields will rise probably as much as they did last week: 25-50 basis points. The dollar would fall. Stocks down 6%.”

“The Fed’s credibility is the foundation of international faith in the dollar,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a conservative economist and former head of the Congressional Budget Office. “An attempt to fire Powell would make the financial market fallout of ‘Liberation Day’ looks like child’s play.”

White House aides did not respond to HuffPost queries. Trump himself raised the idea of firing Powell in a Thursday morning social media post attacking him for not lowering interest rates, even as his counterparts at the European Central Bank have done so.

“The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump wrote, lying about grocery and egg prices being “down.”