Trump insists he won't fire Fed chair Jerome Powell

• But Trump has kept public pressure on Powell to lower interest rates.

What they're saying: Asked whether he had plans to fire the Fed chair before his term ends, Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker" that he gets to "change him very quickly anyway ... you know, it's in a very short period of time."

• Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May 2026, though he can remain on the Federal Reserve Board of governors through January 2028.

Flashback: Trump first nominated Powell to the post in 2017, before quickly turning on him for not cutting interest rates fast enough.

State of play: Trump has stepped up that pressure in his second term, repeatedly bashing Powell for being "Too Late" to slash rates.

• "He should lower them. And I wish the people that are on that [Fed] board would get him to lower because we are at a perfect time. It's already late," Trump said in the interview that aired on Sunday.

Reality check: The Fed will announce a rate decision on Wednesday; it is expected to keep them on hold as officials assess the global trade war's impact on the economy.

• Trump's trade policies put the Fed in a difficult bind. Tariffs risk slowing the labor market, which would normally push them to lower rates, though the most recent jobs report shows healthy hiring.
• But the policies also risk stoking inflation, an outcome the Fed would usually respond to by hiking rates.