Hegseth has bounced into another hot mess but Trump seems inclined to sack the wrong guy

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There’s something to be said for the claim – made by Trump and others – that Hegseth is a victim of being an outsider. He is not a career Pentagon official but a former weekend TV host and veteran. We’re all familiar with the dynamics of big organisations where a new leader, brought in to shake things up, is resisted by the old guard.

But that doesn’t make the revelations wrong, and indeed, Hegseth has not denied them. And as an outsider whose controversial appointment was intensely scrutinised, he has extra responsibility to act judiciously. He already carries enormous baggage courtesy of multiple accusations of sexual assault and excessive drinking, including a confidential settlement paid to a woman who accused him of assault in 2017.

Democrats are casting this as a test of Trump’s leadership: sack Hegseth or look weak. But there is no public indication the president wants to sack his defence secretary. The White House emphatically denied a report it had started searching for someone to fill the role.

Instead, the person Trump seems inclined to fire is Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. The president is increasingly irate with Powell for not cutting interest rates, which are currently at 4.25 to 4.5 per cent. This is a tension Australians know well, though they would be unaccustomed to Trump’s tactics.

On Monday, Trump said there was a case for “pre-emptive” rate cuts because food and energy prices were trending down. This is only half true: the price of oil has fallen since January, but groceries have kept getting more expensive. He claimed “there is virtually no inflation” – it is running at 2.4 per cent, a little above the bank’s target.

In his most personal attack on Powell so far, Trump warned the economy could slow down “unless Mr Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates NOW”. He also accused Powell of cutting rates to help elect Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.

The central bank chair is appointed by the president but remains independent, and is only able to be removed with cause. Last week, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Trump’s team was studying ways it could sack Powell legally.

“I’m not happy with him,” Trump has said previously. “If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.”

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Any move to fire Powell would probably end up before the Supreme Court, which is already due to examine whether the president can sack senior officials at independent agencies. Even if current precedents were overturned, the bank could be exempted because of its special role in the US economy.

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