Most legal scholars agree that Trump can’t fire Powell from the Fed’s board of governors, and there is no legal precedent for doing so. However, there is less agreement over whether a president can remove him as chair.

President Trump, speaking to reporters Tuesday, said he hoped Powell would cut interest rates soon but that he never planned to fire the central banker.

Major U.S. stock indexes dropped and the dollar index slid to a three-year low on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump's continued attacks on the Federal Reserve chair and the bank's monetary policy rattled investors.