AMERICA’S MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IS PRACTICALLY DARING TRUMP TO FIRE HER
Of the many targets Donald Trump hammered on the campaign trail, two of his favorites were financial regulations and Federal Reserve chairJanet Yellen. The former, he told voters, “has made it impossible for bankers to function,“ and pledged to roll back much of Dodd-Frank. The latter, he said, should be “ashamed” of herself for keeping interest rates low, which he claimed was all part of scheme to boost the Obama economy. Of course, once Trump actually moved into the White House, his view of Yellen’s dovish, pro-growth policies flipped. And who could blame him? (“I do like a low-interest-rate policy, I must be honest with you,” he admitted in April.) Renominating Yellen, whose term expires in February, would be one way to ensure the gravy train keeps on rolling.
Unfortunately, as Yellen signaled to the president on Friday—in the subtle, coded language in which all Fed chairs telegraph their intentions—that if he wants those sweet, sweet low interest rates, he’ll have to accept more banking regulations, too. While a slightly less scrupulous Fed chair might have tried to save her job by pandering to the president and signaling maybe she’d help him do “a big number” on Dodd-Frank, Yellen has sent a message that she will not be doing his bidding. And if she loses her job, than so be it. Per Bloomberg: