Economist Mohamed El-Erian broke ranks by suggesting Jerome Powell should resign as US Federal Reserve chairman, arguing that doing so would protect the American central bank's independence.
“By staying in office, is Powell defending independence or is he exposing it to greater threats?” he said, when asked by The National during a conference co-hosted by the World Bank and Centre for Global Development in Washington.
“What has happened over the past few weeks is that it has evolved from simply being attacks on him personally to being attacks on the institution.”
The White House has increased its pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates this year, with US President Donald Trump calling for low rates to help service the nation's debt, a concept known as fiscal dominance.
The Fed has paused its interest rate cuts after reducing policy in the final months of 2024, owing to uncertainty surrounding Mr Trump's tariffs policies. The extended pause has drawn the increasing ire of the White House.
The administration's latest line of attack has been on continuing renovations at the Fed's headquarters in Washington, where costs have risen to $2.5 billion. Trump administration officials have accused Mr Powell of grossly mismanaging the Fed, referring to the renovations, in what some regard as a pretext for ousting him.
Mr Powell has linked cost overruns to unforeseen conditions such as more asbestos than anticipated, contamination in the soil and a higher-than-expected water table.
“This tension between the President and the chairman of the Fed, if it continues, it will suck in more elements of the Fed,” Mr El-Erian said.
Tensions simmered last week following reports that Mr Trump indicated to Republicans in the House of Representatives that he was open to firing Mr Powell. While Mr Trump confirmed he brought up the idea, he said it was “highly unlikely” that he will sack the chairman.
The reports led to a brief spike in long-term yields and a weakening in the US dollar before they pared back some losses after Mr Trump's comments.
Those reported as possible replacements for the Fed chairman include National Economic Council head Kevin Hassett, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller.
Mr El-Erian said the reported list of candidates would help calm market jitters.
“It's a very controversial argument, but it is underpinned by the need to maintain the critical importance of central banking,” he said.
Mr Trump continued his attacks on the Fed chairman on Tuesday. "I think he's done a bad job, but he's going to be out pretty soon anyway. In eight months, he'll be out," Mr Trump said before a meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House.
It was not immediately clear why Mr Trump mentioned that timeline, which would come before Mr Powell's term as Fed chairman ends in May 2026. Mr Powell has said repeatedly that he intends to serve out his term and that Mr Trump has no legal authority to remove him.
In an interview with Fox Business earlier, Mr Bessent said Mr Powell should not resign.
“There’s nothing that tells me that he should step down right now,” he said. “His term ends in May. If he wants to see that through, I think he should. If he wants to leave early, I think he should.”
Mr Bessent on Monday had called for the “entire review” of the Federal Reserve system's non-monetary policy operations. He also called for a review of the Fed's building renovations.
