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Trump studying whether to fire Fed Chair Powell, adviser says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Friday said President Donald Trump and his team were continuing to study if they could fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a sign that such a move, a matter of great consequence for the central bank's independence and for global markets, is still an option. "The president and his team will continue to study that matter," Hassett said at the White House when a reporter asked if "firing Jay Powell is an option in a way that it wasn't before." Hassett's remarks came a day after Trump ramped up a long-simmering feud with the Fed chair, accusing Powell of "playing politics" by not cutting interest rates and asserting he had the power to evict Powell from his job "real fast."