Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that Trump’s disastrous tariffs were putting our country on a path to stagflation – where prices keep rising even as economic growth slows and more people lose their jobs. Trump responded by calling for Powell’s firing for refusing to lower interest rates, and one of his top economic advisers has said the White House is seriously considering terminating him. Powell was Trump’s nominee to serve as chair.
This would be a massive and illegal power grab from a president who will accept no limits on his authority, and one that could crater our economy. While Trump’s handpicked Supreme Court is in the midst of considering a case that could allow him to crush independent agencies like the Federal Reserve, right now they are supposed be protected from political interference, and board members are only removable for cause. And as a conservative economist put it, an attempt to fire Powell would “make the financial market of ‘Liberation Day’ look like child’s play.” We saw a significant dip just from Trump hinting at the possibility. Actually doing so risks a devastating financial crisis.
Let’s contact our members of Congress and tell them to communicate to the White House both publicly and privately that firing Powell would cross a line and they will fight back. We also need to plot out now what steps they will take if he does so, to ensure they’re fully prepared for the moment.
We can use this language from Resistbot or send the letter directly by texting SIGN PBLBKC to 50409, and find call scripts below.
Last updated 4/20/25.
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PHONE SCRIPTS
Hi, my name is _________, and I’m a constituent from (city, zip). (If voicemail, leave street address).
Donald Trump must not fire the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. _________ needs to make it clear to the White House, both publicly and privately, that they will fight him if he attempts to. And they need to have a plan of action ready to go immediately if he tries.
[SHORTER VERSION]:
Donald Trump is not a king. There are supposed to be limits on his power. Congress needs to stand up for those limits. And we saw how the markets panicked when Trump just threatened to fire Powell. He’s going to create a financial crisis that will screw up our economy and my family’s future. You need to do your job and stop it.
[LONGER VERSION]:
The President is not a king. Not everyone is supposed to be subject to his every whim, there are supposed to be limits on his power. Firing the chair of the Federal Reserve would be illegal, and it would obliterate those limits.
We’re already headed for a recession because Donald Trump is purposefully raising prices with his tariffs. Just threatening to fire Powell caused the markets to panic. If Trump goes through with it, he’s going to pile a financial crisis on top of the mess he already created. _______ has to do their job and stop it. And block the tariffs while they’re at it.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
EMAIL LANGUAGE
We can send this directly to our members of Congress by texting SIGN PBLBKC to 50409, or use it as a starting point for the standard congressional email system.
President Trump has now repeatedly indicated he is seriously considering firing the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, the head of a central bank board intentionally designed to be independent of the White House, for pointing out the damage of his tariffs and refusing to follow his every command.
__________ needs to make it clear to the President, both publicly and privately, that they will fight him if he attempts to do so. And they need to have a plan of action ready to go immediately if he tries to terminate him regardless of their warnings.
The President is not a king. Not every official and every law is supposed to be subject to his every whim. There are supposed to be limits on his power, and firing the chair of the Federal Reserve would obliterate those limits, in addition to breaking the law.
Further, we are already headed for a recession because Donald Trump is purposefully raising prices with his tariffs. Just threatening to fire Powell caused the markets to panic. If Trump goes through with it, he is going to pile a financial crisis on top of the disaster he already created. _______ has to do their job and stop it.