Mike Lee posts pretend Fed Chair Powell resignation letter

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Tuesday reportedly shared after which swiftly deleted a pretend, apparently AI-generated letter purporting to point out Jerome Powell resigning as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The phony letter — addressed to “The President” — featured a garbled Fed seal with non-English characters and a barely misshapen depiction of an eagle, in addition to some uncommon textual content spacing.

“After a lot reflection, I’ve determined to resign from my place as Chair of the Board of governors of the Federal Reserve System, efficient on the shut of enterprise immediately, July 22, 2025,” the letter learn.

It was posted on Lee’s verified private X account, @BasedMikeLee, in accordance with journalists at Politico who took screenshots of the publish earlier than it was deleted.

“Powell’s out!” Lee wrote in between two emojis of pink flashing sirens, the screenshots present.

Powell has not resigned.

A reporter for The Hill wrote on X that Lee stated he deleted his publish “out of an abundance of warning” as a result of he was undecided if the letter was reliable.

Lee’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s requests for remark.

CNBC has requested remark from the Fed.

The letter surfaced as President Donald Trump has bludgeoned Powell with criticism and urged him resign his management position on the central financial institution.

Trump needs the Fed to sharply decrease rates of interest to spur financial progress. However the Fed to this point has declined to chop charges this 12 months.

Benny Johnson, a distinguished conservative media persona, additionally briefly posted the pretend Powell letter, however later acknowledged the error in a subsequent publish.

“The Jerome Powell letter is pretend. Please do not share it. Sorry. Dangerous look,” Johnson wrote.

“I nonetheless need Jerome Powell to resign actually unhealthy,” he added.