National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 14, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters<\/p>\n
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett<\/a> said Sunday that whether the Trump administration has the authority to fire Federal Reserve<\/a> Chair Jerome Powell<\/a> is “being looked into.”<\/p>\n “But certainly, if there’s cause, he does,” Hassett said on ABC News’ “This Week<\/a>” of Trump’s authority to remove Powell before his term is up next spring.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> has said that he does not want to fire Powell, but Hassett’s comments suggest the White House is still considering \u2014 and potentially moving towards \u2014 the possibility.<\/p>\n Top Trump administration officials have escalated their criticisms of Powell in recent days, in particular by targeting the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation project<\/a>, which Hassett said has gone over budget by $700 million.<\/p>\n Taxpayers are not paying for the renovations. The Fed is self-funded through interest it makes on securities held by the institution and through fees charged banks.<\/p>\n Read more CNBC politics coverage<\/p>\n Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought last week accused Powell of having “grossly mismanaged the Fed,” and said he would seek an investigation<\/a> into the ongoing project to renovate the Fed’s headquarters.<\/p>\n Vought’s remarks suggested that the Trump administration may be laying the groundwork to find a cause to remove Powell \u2014 a frequent target of the Trump administration \u2014 before his term is up.<\/p>\n In an escalation, Vought sent a list of questions to Powell last week demanding answers about the renovation project.<\/p>\n Hassett on Sunday said the answers to Vought’s questions may determine how the administration proceeds.<\/p>\n “I think that whether the president decides to push down that road or not is going to depend a lot on the answers that we get to the questions that Russ Vought sent to the Fed,” he said.<\/p>\n The Federal Reserve quietly rebutted<\/a> many of Vought’s questions last week with an updated webpage on the Fed website that addresses some of the questions.<\/p>\n “No new VIP dining rooms are being constructed as part of the project,” the\u00a0FAQs page on the website <\/a>states, directly responding to one of Vought’s questions.<\/p>\n The webpage was posted on Friday, the same day that Vought said on CNBC that a probe was warranted over Powell’s management of the renovation project. <\/p>\n While Trump suggested as recently as Friday that he does not want to fire Powell, he has said in recent weeks that he has a few people in mind for the post for when Powell’s term expires next May.<\/p>\n Hassett is reportedly a top contender to replace Powell.<\/p>\n