Global central bank officials are working on a statement to express support for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after the Trump administration opened a criminal investigation into him, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The Trump administration's decision drew condemnation from former Fed chiefs and a chorus of criticism from key members of Trump's Republican Party on Monday, following an unusually sharp public rebuke from Powell calling the move a "pretext" to win presidential influence over interest rates.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
What triggered the row between Trump and Powell?
Trump has grown increasingly vocal in his criticism of the Fed's decisions — notably in March, when the US central bank held interest rates steady. The president wrote on his Truth Social platform that the Fed would be "MUCH better off CUTTING RATES."
In April's so-called Liberation Day announcement, Trump said lower rates would help the US economy deal with his sweeping new import tariffs on goods from major trading partners.
After calling Powell "stupid" and a "numbskull," Trump went further in July after the Fed still failed to cut rates, saying the policy was "hurting people."
That month, Trump even visited the Fed’s headquarters — the first such trip by a sitting president in decades — which was widely seen as expressing his dissatisfaction with Powell.
Trump also moved against other senior Fed figures, including Governor Lisa Cook, whom he sought to remove over unrelated allegations. The subsequent litigation is awaiting a hearing in the US Supreme Court.
By midyear, US media outlets reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had emerged as a front-runner to replace Powell when his term ends in May. He has since downplayed his candidacy.
Other reports suggested that the Trump administration was sounding out a wider list of possible successors.
More recently, US media outlets have focused on four candidates: longtime Trump loyalist Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder.
By the end of 2025, Trump said he would announce Powell's successor in January.
The growing speculation underscored how much pressure the chairman was facing well before the criminal investigation became public over the weekend.