BY MIRABEL ODETA
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he never offered JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon the position of Federal Reserve chair, directly disputing a recent media report, and announced plans to file a lawsuit against the bank over its treatment of him after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump sharply criticized a Wall Street Journal report that claimed he had offered Dimon the top central banking role. Trump dismissed the report as inaccurate and reiterated that no such offer was ever made.
In the same post, he said he intends to sue JPMorgan within the next two weeks, accusing the bank of “debanking” him, a term he has used to describe what he views as unfair restrictions or termination of banking services following the Capitol riot.
JPMorgan did not immediately issue a public response to Trump’s claims. Dimon, however, has had several meetings with Trump and other White House officials over the past year, reflecting ongoing engagement between the administration and leaders of major financial institutions.
According to the Wall Street Journal, one of those meetings included a remark by Trump about the Federal Reserve chair position, which Dimon reportedly interpreted as a joke rather than a serious offer.
Dimon, widely regarded as one of the most influential executives on Wall Street, has at times been critical of policies associated with the Trump administration. He has recently spoken out in defense of the Federal Reserve’s independence, emphasizing the importance of keeping the central bank insulated from political pressure. His comments came shortly after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation involving current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term is set to expire in May.
Beyond the debate over the Fed leadership, Dimon and other senior JPMorgan executives have opposed several administration proposals affecting the financial sector. Among them is a suggested 10% cap on credit card interest rates, which JPMorgan leaders argue could significantly limit access to credit for millions of American households by making lending less viable for banks.
Trump has also made clear that he is considering other candidates to replace Powell when the time comes. Earlier this week, he said he was leaning toward nominating either White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett or former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh for the role, signaling that the decision over the next Fed chair remains open as tensions between the administration and major financial institutions continue to play out.
Original article
Comments