President Donald Trump railed against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its leader Jamie Dimon, threatening to sue the banking giant over his claim that he was debanked after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In a post Saturday, Trump responded to a Wall Street Journal story that said Trump offered Dimon the role of Federal Reserve chief several months ago in a way that Dimon interpreted as a joke.
“There was never such an offer and, in fact, I’ll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th Protest,” Trump wrote.
He didn’t elaborate. JPMorgan didn’t immediately respond to a weekend request for comment.
Trump claimed in August that JPMorgan “discriminated against me very badly” when he alleged the bank asked him to close accounts he held for decades, an action he believes was connected to his supporters stormed the Capitol to stop the 2021 certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. The bank later said it’s facing reviews, investigations and legal proceedings tied to the Trump administration’s fight against “debanking.”
Dimon said earlier this week he wouldn’t consider being the Fed chair.
In response to a question Thursday at a US Chamber of Commerce event about whether he’d consider taking over the central bank, Dimon said, “Chairman of the Fed, I’d put in the absolutely, positively no chance, no way, no how, for any reason.”
As for running the Treasury, “I would take the call,” he said.
Trump has not yet said who he will nominate to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term as Chair ends in May. Trump said Friday he has a pick in his mind but declined to identify them.
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Dimon’s comments follow a public back-and-forth between Dimon and Trump earlier this week over the president’s attacks on the Fed, including criminal subpoenas issued by the Justice Department over the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Dimon said Tuesday that chipping away at Fed independence is “not a great idea,” and could lead to higher inflation and interest rates over time.
Dimon has pushed back in the past against attempts by Trump’s allies to suggest that the bank’s customer decisions are biased.
“We do not debank people’s religious or political affiliations,” Dimon told Fox Business in December.
