President Donald Trump’s patience with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had reportedly run out over the central bank head’s ignoring White House demands to lower interest rates. The New York Times reported the morning of July 16 that Trump had drafted a letter terminating Powell, whose term expires in 10 months. CNBC reported that House Republicans, informally polled by the president during a meeting the prior day, expressed approval for the firing.

By noon, Trump publicly put the story to bed.