President Donald Trump could be setting up Fed Chair Jerome Powell as a 'scapegoat' if a recession hits, according to an MSU economist.

Most legal scholars agree that Trump can’t fire Powell from the Fed’s board of governors, and there is no legal precedent for doing so. However, there is less agreement over whether a president can remove him as chair.

The president said he has “no intention” of ousting Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, but the administration’s willingness to challenge norms regarding the central bank’s political independence is causing concern.