President Trump has backed away from threats to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but senior administration officials are keeping the heat on the central bank chief.
Earlier this week, Trump told a small group of GOP lawmakers he'd fire Powell "soon." The president then said publicly that there's no point in firing Powell, whose term ends in less than a year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg TV that Trump "is not looking to fire" the Fed chair.
The president cannot legally fire Powell for policy differences but he can fire him for "cause."
Democrats believe the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for termination as Republicans investigate cost-overruns to renovations taking place at the Federal Reserve building in Washington.
Administration officials have accused Powell of lying to Congress about the $2.5 billion refurbishment. White House Budget adviser Russ Vought said Thursday the project had experienced $700 million in cost overruns.
"We want to get a sense for the difference between his statements and the plans that were submitted to the National Planning Commission," Vought said.
"It has implications for the country's fiscal situation," he added.
Republican senators are warning Trump against firing Powell, saying it would send "shockwaves" through the economy.
"I do not believe a president, any president, has the authority to fire the Federal Reserve chair," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Fed.
"I believe strongly in the independence of the Federal Reserve," he added. "Some countries in the world don't have independent central banks. Ask Turkey how that's been working out for them. At one point Turkey had inflation at 30 percent."
The conservative editorial board at the Wall Street Journal echoed that sentiment.
"Love or loathe Mr. Powell, Mr. Trump chose him," the board said. "Mr. Trump also chose the tariff taxes, and a multitude of no-growth tax and spending handouts in the new budget bill. Now the President has to live with his choices."
In its July Beige Book, the Federal Reserve board warned of inflation, saying businesses "passed on at least a portion of cost increases to consumers through price hikes or surcharge."
Powell has refused Trump's demands to lower interest rates, citing the threat of inflation from tariffs.
"Despite all of the doom-casting from the so-called experts that these tariffs would be the end of the world as we know it, the opposite has occurred," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. "Tariffs are not inflationary, as President Trump has said all along. In reality, tariffs are a source of massive revenue."
Leavitt said tariff revenue has totaled more than $113 billion so far this year.
• Trump's approval rating on immigration is at the lowest point of his second term, according to a new survey from Reuters/Ipsos.
Only 41 percent approve, down from 50 percent in March, as immigration raids and mass deportations dominate headlines.
White House border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday the Trump administration is considering changes to immigration policy pertaining to farm and hospitality workers.
Last week, Trump announced a new program intended to support the agriculture industry, as farmers complain that deportations are disrupting their business, which often rely on migrant workers.
Trump insisted the program would not provide "amnesty," though details are scant.
The Wall Street Journal reports: "President Trump's aggressive deportation policies are spawning a new GOP-led policy push in Congress: Specific immigration-law changes to help protect the workforce in the agriculture industry, which relies heavily on unauthorized laborers."
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