(Headline USA) Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell be removed from his position, accusing him of deliberately trying to tank the economy by hiking interest rates.
On Wednesday, the Fed announced it would hike rates for the ninth time in an effort to ease inflation. Warren argued the rate hikes will lead to mass lay-offs, and demanded that President Joe Biden fire Powell before those lay-offs occur.
“I made it very clear as publicly as humanly possible that I didn’t think that he should be reconfirmed as chair of the Fed. And I think he’s doing a really terrible job,” Warren said when asked if she has talked with Biden about her concerns.
When asked if she thinks the U.S. is headed for a recession, Warren said: “I think that is where Jerome Powell is trying to drive it.”
“You think he’s purposely trying to drive it to a recession?” Tapper asked.
“Well, what he’s trying to do is get two million people laid off,” she answered. “And one of the things that we need to understand, he wants to raise the unemployment rate by more than a point within a single 12-month period. We have done that before in this country. In fact, we have done it 12 times before. And out of all 12 times. How many times has it resulted in a recession? The answer is 12.”
Powell is a “dangerous man to have in this job,” Warren added.
Warren is not the only lawmaker to express similar concerns. During a congressional hearing this month, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., accused Powell of “trying to put people out of work.”
“In effect – I’m not being critical – when you’re slowing the economy, you’re trying to put people out of work. That’s your job, is it not?” Kennedy said.
