WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is gaining some key backing on Capitol Hill from GOP senators who fear the repercussions if President Donald Trump follows through with threats to try and remove the politically independent central banker.

President Trump asked a group of Republican lawmakers how they felt about him firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and told them he would "likely" fire Powell "soon," according to two White House officials and sources familiar with the Tuesday evening meeting.

Donald Trump asked lawmakers whether he should fire Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell in a move that fuelled a fresh bout of concerns over the central bank’s independence and hit

Democrats are latching on to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, demanding records be released and trolling Republicans on social media, news shows and in the U.S. House as they revel in a rare fissure between President Donald Trump and his fiercely loyal base.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday described Texas as the centerpiece in a plan to add Republican U.S. House seats by redrawing congressional boundaries in multiple states. “Texas would be the biggest one — and that’ll be five,