Kudlow: No plans to replace Powell ‘presently’

President Trump “presently” has no plans to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, top White House adviser Larry Kudlow said Tuesday.

“There are no plans presently to change Mr. Powell’s job,” Kudlow said at a CNBC event in Washington, repeating the word “presently” twice during the interview.

{mosads}Trump has openly feuded with the head of the central bank, insisting that interest rates should be cut and railing against a December increase that briefly spooked markets.

Critics have lambasted Trump, saying he was interfering with the Federal Reserve’s independence, particularly when speculation has arisen that he plans to replace Powell, which would be a highly unusual move.

Kudlow also echoed Trump’s calls for bringing down rates, despite the booming economy, strong recent jobs report and low unemployment.

He declared the Phillips curve, the economic concept that there is a trade-off between employment and inflation, “dead.”

“The so-called Phillips curve has been dead for a long time,” he said.

Keeping inflation under wraps is the Fed’s central mandate.