President Trump has reportedly upped his attacks on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in recent days, complaining to Republican lawmakers and staffers at three different meetings about the Fed holding the economy back, The Wall Street Journal reports. “He was pretty rough,” one source was quoted as saying about one of the meetings. Trump, who reportedly blames the Fed’s previous rate increases for muting the economy’s growth and causing a rise in the U.S. deficit, reportedly also lashed out at Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for recommending Powell, at one point saying, “Mnuchin gave me this guy,” according to the Journal. During a phone call in early March, Trump told Powell: “I guess I’m stuck with you,” one source told the Journal. White House advisers have reportedly “played down” concerns that Trump would fire Powell, although they haven’t ruled out that possibility entirely. Powell told 60 Minutes in March that he didn't think Trump had the authority to remove him over “policy disagreements,” but would leave the Fed if Trump asked him to.
