Crash Course: Jerome Powell pumps Trump's brakes

Trump to Powell: Drop Fed

We’ve been living in the Donald Trump era of politics for a decade now. As such, we can’t pretend that the president is some greenhorn who needs to learn hard lessons about the limits of his power and the shortcomings of his governing philosophy. Even so, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has treated second-term Trump like a toddler who just needs to touch the stove.

Powell has remained steadfast in his refusal to drop interest rates, even as Trump’s economic agenda fumbles toward a predictable economic downturn. The stone-faced banker has a rare amount of job security in the Trump admin and has used his imperviousness to speak plainly on Trump’s more boneheaded policies. Trump, who has called Powell “a FOOL who doesn’t have a clue” on social media, came to Powell red cap in hand on Thursday to once again request lowered interest rates.

Powell showed that he’s no Wall Street chickenhawk, offering Trump the same flat “no” in person that he’s offered in press conferences. The Fed’s statement after the fact offered a glimpse of the icy mood in the room.

“The path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook,” they wrote.

What do you think? Is Powell making “a mistake,” as the White House put it after the meeting? Will Trumpian economic chaos eventually force Powell to reverse course? Sound off in the comments. 

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They said what?

• “I would say that they are a bit stalled”

  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on much-vaunted trade talks with China. Trump has made a trade deal with China a key part of his economic policy, placing steeper tariffs on imports from the superpower than any other trading partner. Given the recent run of bad luck that Trump’s tariffs have had in the court, it’s entirely possible that President Xi Jinping is waiting POTUS out.

• “They’re dumb”

  Nathan Fielder, speaking on the Federal Aviation Administration. The comedian focused the most recent season of his HBO series “The Rehearsal” on plane crashes, an insanely prescient move given the recent spate of in-air incidents around the United States.

• “We thank him for his service”

  White House Spox Karoline Leavitt, dancing around Elon Musk’s criticisms of the Trump-backed “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Musk’s term as head of the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency comes to an end this week and the former close confidant of Trump has spent his final days going scorched Earth on the GOP.

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