Trump tries to douse reports that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's job is in jeopardy

On Tuesday, President Trump told reporters that he has confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, calling him a "very talented guy, very smart person." Behind the scenes, however, Trump is getting very frustrated with Mnuchin, a source with close ties to the White House tells CNN. Mnuchin's job could be in "serious jeopardy," the source said. "Mnuchin is under the gun." Trump is said to be upset over Mnuchin's inability to calm turbulent financial markets from his vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and for having recommended Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by 2.9 percent on Christmas Eve and the S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent, record drops for both indices on what's normally a slow trading day. The markets have been in tumult all month, reacting to underwhelming financial news from the U.S., China, and other leading economies plus Trump's trade wars and his attacks on Powell. He kept up his criticism of the Fed chairman on Tuesday, trying to make the case that the economy is strong but Powell's reaction, slowly raising benchmark interest rates, is unfairly harming the economy. Mnuchin denied on Saturday that Trump has been asking advisers if he can legally fire Powell, who heads America's independent central bank.

"Well, we'll see," Trump said when a reporter asked if he has confidence in Powell. "They're raising interest rates too fast, that's my opinion. But I certainly have confidence. But I think it'll straighten. They're raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good. But I think that they will get it pretty soon, I really do." He noted that higher interest rates help savers but complained that while Powell's Fed is raising rates, "President Obama didn't do much of that. ... He had a very low interest rate."

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