If Trump Tries to Fire Powell, Fed Chair Is Ready for a Legal Fight – WSJ

Six years later, Trump is heading back to the White House and the dormant drama of his fraught relationship with Powell is back on display. When asked last week whether he would resign if asked to do so, Powell offered a one-word reply: No. He gave the same answer when asked if the president had the authority to dismiss him.

Powell, a former private-equity executive who has a law degree, was later pressed to explain his rationale. He delivered another curt response: Not permitted under the law.

His unflinching rejoinders laid bare the prospect that any attempt to force Powell to leave before his term ends in 2026 would likely be resolved in an unprecedented legal battle the same one Fed leaders had prepared for years ago.

If the president were to succeed at this, that would mean every future chair is subject to removal at the whim of the president, said Scott Alvarez, who served as the Fed s general counsel from 2004 to 2017. I don t think that s a precedent Jay would want to set, and that s why I think he would fight it. This is a humongous precedent.

via www.wsj.com

There are some weeks in which decades happen, Lenin or some such person was supposed to have said.