"Don't Play Games with the Fed"... 'Emperor of Wall Street' Dimon Criticizes Trump

Dimon, Chairman of JPMorgan, Stresses Importance of Fed Independence

On July 15 (local time), Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, known as the "Emperor of Wall Street," warned the Donald Trump administration not to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Reuters Yonhap News

After announcing the company's second-quarter earnings that day, Dimon stated, "The independence of the Fed is absolutely critical," and pointed out, "Playing games with the Fed can result in negative outcomes that are the exact opposite of what is expected."

While President Trump and his aides have been repeatedly urging Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, Dimon is the first CEO of a private financial institution to publicly criticize these efforts to pressure Powell.

Dimon emphasized that the independence of the Fed is "absolutely essential not only for the current Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, whom I respect, but also for the next Fed Chair."

President Trump has been pressuring Chair Powell to lower interest rates, using expressions such as "dummy" and "idiot" on a daily basis. On this day as well, after the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June came in lower than expected, he argued, "Consumer prices are low," adding, "The Fed must cut rates immediately. It should be a 3-point (3 percentage point) cut."

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announced that the official process to nominate the next Fed Chair has begun.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV that day, Secretary Besant said regarding the nomination of the next Fed Chair, "The official process has already started. There are many excellent candidates both inside and outside the Fed." He added, "Traditionally, the Fed Chair also resigns from the Board of Governors," urging Chair Powell to step down from the board as well when his term as chair ends in May next year, even though there will be time remaining in his term as a board member.

Chair Powell's term as Fed Chair expires in May 2026, but his term as a Fed Governor runs until January 2028, so he could remain on the board even after stepping down as chair. However, Powell has not stated his position on whether he will resign from the board after his term as chair ends.

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