Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been under pressure from President Trump to lower the central bank's benchmark interest rate.

The Trump administration has pressured Powell, whose term as Fed chair expires next year, to step down as chair of the central bank.

Fed Chair Powell sparked a big rally as he signaled the central bank could cut rates in September in his remarks at the Jackson Hole policy symposium.

Trump ratcheted up his pressure campaign this week, calling on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign after a Trump administration official alleged that she had committed mortgage fraud. Cook rebuked the push for her to quit, saying she has “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.”

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, under pressure from US President Donald Trump, speaks at annual conference in Wyoming.

If the famously data-dependent Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shifts gears and takes a gloomier view of the job market, that could open the door for a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September.

The Fed chair delivered a “virtuoso performance” with his Jackson Hole speech, says State Street’s Michael Arone

If inflation starts climbing again after a rate cut, “the Fed will have to reverse course — and in the worst case, start hiking again,” Slok said.