President-elect Donald Trump says he doesn't plan to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — but claims Powell would resign "if I told him to."
Trump's remarks came after Powell said last month that he wouldn't step down if Trump requested his resignation.
During a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" broadcast Sunday, Trump was asked if he would try to replace Powell.
"No, I don't think so. I don't see it," he said.
But Trump said of a potential Powell resignation, "I think if I told him to, he would. But if I asked him to, he probably wouldn't. But if I told him to, he would."
Trump picked Powell to chair the Fed in 2017 but went on publicly criticize his monetary policy and repeatedly threaten to replace Powell, claiming he could "put him in a regular position and put somebody else in charge," the Associated Press reported in 2020.
On Nov. 7, two days after Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Powell was asked during a news conference whether he'd resign at Trump's request.
"No," Powell said.
Powell also said Trump wouldn't have the power to fire or demote him, saying it's "not permitted under the law."
Powell was nominated to the Fed's Board of Governors by then-President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2012.
Trump picked Powell to chair the board in 2017 and his second, four-year term is set to end in 2026, according to the Federal Reserve website.
Powell's second, 14-year term on the board doesn't end until 2028.
