Speaking of that temple known as the Federal Reserve Board, Chairman Jerome Powell is in a rhetorical shoving match with President-elect Donald Trump. Trump says he might want to remove Powell, and the Fed Chairman claims Trump “is not permitted under the law” to remove him. He says no matter what the President decides to do, he’s “not leaving.”

Who’s right?  One of our favorite legal scholars, John Yoo of Stanford, concludes in his Fox News piece:

“Powell is not only politically unwise to claim independence from presidential control, but he is also legally mistaken. Trump can fire Powell under the laws that created the Federal Reserve as well as under the Constitution.”

Yoo notes the Federal Reserve Act “provides no express protection against removing Powell as chair – though under the statute, Trump would need ’cause’ to remove him from the board.”

So Trump should be able to (at the very least) immediately demote Powell from chairman to regular board member.

We’re not legal eagles, but Yoo seems to make an excellent point. Powell cannot be entirely insulated from political accountability. That’s a danger to democracy. If Truman could fire General MacArthur, then Trump should be able to fire Chairman Powell.

Adios, Powell?