Could Trump actually fire head of the U.S. central bank, Jerome Powell? | CBC News

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday kept up his verbal attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the Fed's refusal for now to further cut interest rates.

On social media, the president referenced Powell when he said a slowdown would be coming to the U.S. economy unless "Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, now."

This comes after Trump said Powell's termination "cannot come fast enough" in another Truth Social post last week. 

While the Federal Reserve — the U.S. government's central bank — is an independent body, Trump has been pressuring it to lower interest rates.

Many economists say the rising attacks on Powell are increasing fear that Trump may ultimately try to fire the U.S. central bank chief. That fear contributed largely to the slump in financial markets yesterday, experts added.

The S&P 500 sank 2.4 per cent yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.5 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 2.6 per cent to end another turbulent day on Wall Street.