U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on "reciprocal tariffs" at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on April 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)Trump's attacks on Powell signal an attempt to scapegoat the central bank for impending economic weakness caused by the president's tariff policies.WASHINGTON, April 23 (Xinhua) -- After branding Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as a "major loser" and suggesting he might oust him, U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course on Tuesday, stating he had "no intention of firing" Powell.Trump's about-face came after U.S. stocks and the dollar took another dive on Monday amid his attacks on Powell, who suggested last week that the president's trade war will hamper growth and stoke inflation in the United States.Trump's threat to fire Powell rattled already-nervous investors who feared the president is chipping away at the central bank's self-declared independence, triggering further turmoil amid heightened tariff uncertainty.Despite his stepping back, Trump has continued to press Powell to cut interest rates, though the Fed chair recently emphasized that he would not rush into such a decision or take it lightly.WHAT'S THE LATEST SALVO?Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump continued to air his grievances about Powell, even though he said the Fed chair would stay on the job despite the president's belief that inflation is no longer a problem. Trump would like Powell to be "a little more active" when it comes to cutting interest rates.On his social media platform Truth Social, the president on Monday blasted the Fed chair as "a major loser" and "Mr. Too Late," blaming Powell for not being responsive to his repeated demands to lower the interest rates.Trump claimed that Powell has always been too slow to cut rates, warning that "there can be a SLOWING of the economy."Trump also accused Powell of slashing rates in an attempt to help Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in their presidential campaign against him last fall. Trump said the Fed chair is now dragging his feet on moves that could aid his second-term agenda.This is not the first time Trump has said he is "not happy with" his selection of Powell for the head of the central bank. He reportedly discussed firing Powell in his first term and repeated Thursday that "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!""If I want him out, he'll be out of there real fast, believe me," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday.U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell attends a press conference in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)WHAT'S BEHIND THE ATTACKS?Analysts said Trump's attacks on Powell signal an attempt to scapegoat the central bank for impending economic weakness caused by the president's tariff policies.Trump's trade war "against almost every country on Earth is going badly," wrote The Atlantic. "The trade war is ... scaring investors into dumping dollar-denominated assets. U.S. bond prices are falling, and the value of the dollar itself is tumbling.""As Trump's policies wreak havoc, the policies' author needs an excuse and someone to blame. Powell is that someone," it noted.This was echoed by The Wall Street Journal. "It's tempting to want somebody else to ride to the rescue, or at least have someone else to blame," the paper quoted former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm as saying.The Atlantic piece pointed out that Trump treats interest rate cuts as a cure-all for his own economic mistakes, highlighting that when his trade war rattled markets in late 2018, he pressured the Fed to slash rates to bail him out.However, the Fed's responsibility is to maintain price stability. According to The Atlantic, if the Fed lowers short-term interest rates during inflation, it may spook investors into expecting worse to come, driving up long-term rates."The rescue that the economy needs is a change not in monetary policy but in Trump's economic aggression against trading partners," it said. "End the tariffs, let trade recover, and then the Fed can do its convalescent work."Photo taken on April 20, 2022 shows the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)CAN TRUMP FIRE POWELL?The Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which established the Fed, stipulates that members of the Board of Governors -- appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to staggered 14-year terms -- can only be removed for "cause," a standard long understood to mean misconduct rather than policy disagreements.Powell has consistently steered clear of political commentary, avoiding direct criticism of Trump and emphasizing the importance of the Fed's independence.When asked whether the president has the authority to fire him, Powell has maintained that the law does not allow it. While the matter is somewhat open to legal debate, most scholars agree with Powell's interpretation, barring extraordinary circumstances such as illegal behavior.Although it is hard to predict whether Trump would proceed with the removal of Powell, damage from the sheer uncertainty has already come into view.The S 500, which tracks 500 of the biggest U.S. companies, fell roughly 2.4 percent on Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite dropped around 2.5 percent respectively.Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar, which is supposed to be a safe asset in times of market turmoil, failed to escape the recent turbulence, sliding to its lowest level since 2022.Any attempt by Trump to sack Powell would likely spark a sharp sell-off in U.S. equity markets, Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI, told CNBC on Monday."If you start to raise questions about Federal Reserve independence, you are raising the bar for the Federal Reserve to cut. If you actually did try to remove the Federal Reserve chairman, I think you would see a severe reaction in markets with (bond) yields higher, dollars lower, and equities selling off," said Guha. "I can't believe that that's what the administration is trying to achieve."In line with Guha's remarks, The Wall Street Journal said in Monday's report that even if Powell is not ultimately ousted, Trump's efforts to discredit him could do lasting harm to an institution that has long sought to remain apolitical and technocratic.