Jerome H. Powell has said that he has “no intention of leaving the board” of the Fed until a criminal investigation into his handling of renovations at the central bank’s headquarters was “well and truly over.”Credit…
President Trump vowed to fire Jerome H. Powell if he opted to stay on at the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends, doubling down on a criminal investigation into the central bank that is threatening to delay the confirmation of Mr. Powell’s successor.
Mr. Powell’s tenure as chair officially ends on May 15, but both the law and past precedent suggest that he can serve on a temporary basis until Mr. Trump’s pick to replace him, Kevin M. Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Powell’s term as a Fed governor also runs well beyond that date, allowing him to stay on at the central bank until 2028.
President Trump also signaled that he did not believe the Justice Department should drop its investigation into Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair. Prosecutors are looking into cost overruns in a renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, but they have been blocked from subpoenaing Powell, after a federal judge found the inquiry had clear political motivations.
“I have to find out,” Trump said in his interview with Fox Business, during which he again attacked Powell over interest rates.
President Trump’s suggestion he might fire Jerome Powell if he did not step down as Federal Reserve chair only served to reaffirm his desire to remake the roster of the central bank and install a set of policymakers who share his desire to cut interest rates. Last year, the president took the extraordinary step of trying to fire another governor on the Fed board, Lisa D. Cook, triggering a legal challenge that is currently awaiting a decision at the Supreme Court.
In the House, Republican plans go awry amid party divides.
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