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Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump considers four finalists for Fed chair
Donald Trump revealed who he is considering to chair the Federal Reserve if he should move to oust Jerome Powell. And among the short list is not his current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 'I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,' Trump said Tuesday morning during a wide-ranging interview on CNBC's Squawk Box. 'I asked him just last night, 'Is this something you want?' 'Nope, I want to stay where I am.' He actually said, 'I want to work with you. It's such an honor,' Trump said reenacting his conversation with the Bessent. The president has been at war with Federal Reserve Chairman Powell , who has refused to bow to pressure to lower interest rates. Trump could also allow Powell to serve out his full term, which ends in May 2026, and select a replacement then. Trump joked with CNBC anchor Becky Quick that she and her co-hosts would be better than Powell. 'You guys are better than most of the people who do it for a living,' he said. The president told CNBC that he has a list of four people he is considering to take Powell's place. The final four include former Federal Reserve Board of Governors Kevin Warsh and Council of Economic Advisors member Kevin Hassett. Current Fed Governor Christopher Waller has also been floated as a potential future chairman. 'The two Kevins are doing well and I have two other people that are doing well,' Trump said on Tuesday during the call-in interview, naming two of the four he's considering. While Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell, it's not easy for a president to oust leaders at independent agencies. Trump says he has the authority to remove Powell and has cited disagreements over monetary policy – specifically the issue of interest rates. But the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 prevents the president from firing members of the Federal Board of Governors, including the chairman, for any reason other than 'for cause.' This generally is interpreted as misconduct or neglect of duty. It does not appear to encompass policy disagreements like those Trump has repeatedly expressed. Additionally, a Supreme Court decision in 1935 reinforced that a president cannot without cause fire top officials at independent agencies, which includes the Fed. Additionally, Trump has a more urgent Fed Board vacancy to fill after last week's resignation of Biden appointee Adriana Kugler. In his attacks on Powell, Trump has even tried to allege fraud was afoot in a $2.5 billion Federal Reserve renovation project and this was possible justification for removal. During a tour of the Fed headquarters with Powell on July 24 , Trump implied mismanagement of funds or fraud, saying that the cost rose to $3.1 billion. Powell immediately corrected Trump in front of the press, noting the figure he was referencing included a separate building that was renovated five years prior. Trump has not provided any concrete evidence of fraud.
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Senators ask US to probe data security issues with DeepSeek
Aug 5 (Reuters) - A group of seven Republican U.S. senators on Tuesday asked the Commerce Department to evaluate potential data security vulnerabilities posed by Chinese open-source AI models like DeepSeek. The senators including Jon Husted, Ted Budd and John Cornyn want the Commerce Department to detail any threats from data collected by applications being fed back to Chinese servers or whether the AI models are feeding American personal or enterprise data to China's military or to companies with Chinese military ties. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in January it appeared DeepSeek had misappropriated U.S. AI technology and vowed to impose restrictions.
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump again threatens 'very substantial' tariff hikes for India over Russian oil
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25% "very substantially" over the next 24 hours, in view of New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. He also said a "zero tariff" offer for imports of U.S. goods into India was not good enough, alleging that India was "fuelling the war" in Ukraine. Trump's threat to India over its purchases of Russian oil started on July 31, when he announced a 25% tariff for Indian goods, along with an unspecified penalty. "They're fuelling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy," Trump told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday, adding that the main sticking point with India was that its tariffs were too high. "Now, I will say this, India went from the highest tariffs ever. They will give us zero tariffs, and they're going to let us go in. But that's not good enough, because of what they're doing with oil, not good." An Indian government source said that India's purchases of Russian oil have helped to stabilise global oil prices by easing the pressure on supplies from other regions. India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, buys more than a third of the oil it needs from Russia. "If we stop buying Russian oil, who will replace those barrels to maintain balance (in the market) and at the same time prevent the prices from shooting up? We don't want a repeat of 2022 when prices shot up to $137 a barrel," the source said, referring to the oil market spike around the time when Moscow's invasion of Ukraine began. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorised to speak to the media. Trump's latest comment followed a similar threat on Monday, which prompted India's Foreign Ministry to say the country was being unfairly singled out over its purchases of Russian oil. "It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia (despite the Ukraine war)," it said in a statement issued late on Monday. "It is unjustified to single out India," it added. The EU conducted 67.5 billion euros ($78.0 billion) worth of trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas that totalled 16.5 million metric tons, the Indian ministry said. The United States continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for use in its nuclear power industry, palladium, fertilisers and chemicals, it added, without giving a source for the export information. The U.S. embassy and the EU's delegation in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both the United States and EU have reduced their trade ties with Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. It has faced pressure from the West to distance itself from Russia over the Ukraine war. New Delhi has resisted, citing its longstanding ties with Moscow and economic needs. India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is likely to go ahead with a scheduled visit to Russia this week, two government sources said. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to visit in the coming weeks. The sudden rift between India and the U.S. has been deepening since July 31. Trump has said that from Friday he will impose new sanctions on Russia as well as on countries that buy its energy exports, unless Moscow takes steps to end the war with Ukraine. The trade tensions have caused concern about the potential impact on India's economy. The equity benchmark BSE Sensex .BSESN closed down 0.38%, while the rupee dropped 0.17% versus the dollar.
