Trump Believes He Has the Authority to Replace Powell at Fed
特朗普認爲他有權撤換鮑威爾美聯儲主席一職

來源：彭博社 翻譯：世界播

President Donald Trump has told confidants as recently as Wednesday that he believes he has the authority to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, according to people familiar with the matter.

據知情人士透露，就在週三，美國總統唐納德•特朗普告訴他的親信，他相信自己有權撤換傑羅姆•鮑威爾美聯儲主席的職務。

In Trump’s line of thinking, he could demote Powell to be a board governor, but isn’t planning to do so right now, the people added.

知情人士補充稱，按照特朗普的思路，他可能會把鮑威爾降職爲董事會成員，但目前他不打算這麼做。

Their account of the president’s conversations emerged just hours after Powell said he intends to serve his full four-year term despite Trump’s continuing criticism of Fed policy. Earlier this year, Trump asked White House lawyers to explore options for removing him, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

就在總統這些談話曝光之前的幾個小時，鮑威爾表示，儘管特朗普一直以來不斷地批評美聯儲的政策，但是他打算完成他的四年任期。彭博社週二報道稱，今年早些時候，特朗普曾要求白宮律師探討將他免職的方案。

The people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations, said that Trump’s frustration with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is limited to his recommendation to pick Powell as Fed chair. Mnuchin is otherwise in good standing with the president, they said.

這些要求匿名說明白宮內部討論的人士表示，特朗普對財政部長史蒂芬•姆欽的不滿僅限於他推薦鮑威爾擔任美聯儲主席。他們指出，除此之外，姆欽與總統的關係保持地非常好。

Trump’s attacks on the Fed are a departure from almost three decades of caution in the White House about making public comments on monetary policy, out of respect for the independence of the central bank.

出於對美聯儲獨立性的尊重，白宮近三十年來對於公開評論貨幣政策一向保持審慎，但特朗普對美聯儲的攻擊和批評卻與之背道而馳。

“I think the law is clear that I have a four-year term, and I fully intend to serve it,” Powell said at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday after policy makers met to discuss interest rates. They left the benchmark rate unchanged, while opening the door to a rate cut later this year.

鮑威爾週三在華盛頓舉行的新聞發佈會上表示：“我認爲這項法律已經規定的很清楚，我的任期是四年，我完全打算做滿任期”。美聯儲週三保持基準利率不變，但暗示今年晚些時候可能會降息。

White House lawyers think there is a way to follow through with a demotion if that’s what the president wants, but there has been some disagreement in the Counsel’s office, according to a person familiar with the matter.

據一位知情人士透露，白宮律師們認爲，如果總統想要進行降職，就有辦法堅持到底，但律師辦公室裏對此一直存在一些分歧。

Asked about the president’s belief that he could demote Powell, a White House spokesman declined to comment on a decision that was not currently being carried out.

當被問及總統是否認爲他可以將鮑威爾降級時，白宮發言人拒絕就目前尚未執行的一項決定置評。

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Trump’s chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow also declined to comment while at an event for the economist Arthur Laffer, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier Wednesday.

白宮代理幕僚長米克•馬爾瓦尼和特朗普的首席經濟顧問拉里•庫德洛在出席經濟學家阿瑟•拉弗的活動時也拒絕置評。拉弗週三早些時候獲得了總統自由勳章。

Kevin Hassett, the departing chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said “one hundred percent he won’t do it,” referring to Trump’s consideration of demoting Powell. Asked if Trump should do that, Hassett responded: “No.”

即將離任的白宮經濟顧問委員會主席凱文•哈塞特表示，“他百分之百不會這麼做”，他指的是特朗普考慮讓鮑威爾降職。當被問及特朗普是否應該這麼做時，哈塞特回答說：“不該。”

Trump has repeatedly accused Powell of not doing enough to bolster the economy. The president has called for lower interest rates as he seeks to offset the headwinds created by his trade war with China and to create a favorable backdrop for his re-election campaign next year.

特朗普一再指責鮑威爾在提振經濟方面做得不夠。他一直呼籲降息，以抵消他與中國貿易戰帶來的不利影響，併爲他明年的連任競選創造一個有利的優勢。

Trump told ABC News Friday that he disagreed with Powell “entirely,” adding that “if we had a different person in the Federal Reserve that wouldn’t have raised interest rates so much,” economic growth would have been stronger.

特朗普上週五對美國廣播公司表示，他“完全”不同意鮑威爾的觀點。他還說，“如果美聯儲換一個人做決策，就不會把利率提高那麼多，經濟增長態勢就會更加強勁。”

The Federal Reserve Act provides explicit protection for Fed governors against removal by the president except “for cause.” Courts have interpreted the phrase to require proof of some form of legal misconduct or neglect of basic duties. A disagreement over monetary policy wouldn’t meet that bar.

《聯邦儲備法》爲美聯儲官員提供了明確的保護，除非是“出於某種原因”，否則他們不會輕易地就被總統免職。法院對這句話的解釋是，要求提供某種形式的法律不當行爲或疏忽職守的證據。僅僅是在貨幣政策上與總統存在分歧是不會被隨意解職的。