US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that he did not see a reason for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to resign immediately, a day after calling for a review of the Fed.
Bessent鈥檚 comments in a Fox Business interview come as Powell faces growing pressure from Donald Trump鈥檚 administration to slash interest rates, with the president recently targeting the central bank chief over the Fed鈥檚 $2.5 billion renovation project as well.
鈥楾here鈥檚 nothing that tells me that he should step down right now,鈥� Bessent said, referring to Powell. But he noted that Powell鈥檚 term as Fed chair ends in May 2026, and that Powell should see out his full term if he wants to.
But if the Fed chief wanted to leave early, he should as well, Bessent added.
The US central bank has held interest rates steady this year as it monitors the effects of Trump鈥檚 sweeping tariffs since returning to the White House 鈥� drawing ire from the president.
Fed officials expect to have a better understanding of how the levies impact the US economy in the summer months, and are approaching further rate cuts cautiously.
The Fed holds its next policy meeting at the end of this month.
Late Monday, Bessent called for the Fed to conduct an 鈥榚xhaustive internal review of its non-monetary policy operations,鈥� accusing the central bank of 鈥榮ignificant mission creep鈥� in a social media post.
In a lengthy post on X, Bessent sought to clarify remarks he made in a CNBC interview earlier in the day, in which he said 鈥榳hat we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful.鈥�
The remark came in response to being asked about firing Fed vhair Jerome Powell, whom president Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked in recent weeks for not cutting interest rates.
The White House has said that Trump has no plans to fire Powell ahead of his term鈥檚 end in May 2026 鈥� a legally contentious move that would bring into question the Fed鈥檚 independence.
However, Trump and other Republican allies have recently zoomed in on the Fed鈥檚 $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project as a possible avenue for his ousting.
He called for a review of the over-budget renovation project, while noting he has 鈥榥o knowledge or opinion on the legal basis for the massive building renovations.鈥�
