Trump says he’ll fire Powell next month if he stays in his role at the Fed
President Donald Trump said he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step aside when his term at the helm of the central bank expires next month.
“Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo Wednesday in response to a question about Powell staying on at the Fed.
The timing of Powell’s departure from the Fed has been complicated by a criminal investigation into the Fed chair by the Department of Justice that accuses Powell of lying to Congress in testimony last year about the Fed’s $2.5 billion-dollar renovation of its Washington, DC, headquarters. It’s a subject the Trump administration has zoned in on as part of its repeated criticism of Powell’s leadership of the Fed. Trump in January nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Powell, whose term leading the central bank expires on May 15. But North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a key member of the committee that approves Fed nominees, reiterated this week that he will not vote to confirm Warsh until the Powell probe has concluded. The Trump administration doubled down on its support for the probe this week, despite the likelihood that it will delay Warsh’s nomination and could lead to a legal faceoff with Powell that could prolong Trump’s unwanted Fed chair to stay at the central bank. Two prosecutors working for the District of Columbia US Attorney’s office, led by Jeanine Pirro, were turned away Tuesday after showing up at the Fed’s headquarters in an unannounced visit to check on renovation progress. “Any construction project that has cost overruns of almost 80% over the original construction budget deserves some serious review,” Pirro said in a statement. And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?” Robert Hur, a lawyer representing the Fed, told one of the prosecutors not to visit the building again without a Fed lawyer present, according to correspondence obtained by CNN. The visit – and Trump’s renewed threat to fire Powell – escalates an already extraordinary battle between the administration and the central bank. The actions and threats raise significant questions about the central bank’s prized independence and its ability to lead itself through unprecedented attempts from the White House to interfere with its affairs.
Powell’s tenure
With just one month to go until Powell’s time as chair is set to expire, Warsh has yet to be confirmed by the Senate and the full chamber. That leaves the potential for Powell to remain in place as chair “pro tempore,” per Fed regulations. Powell confirmed at a press briefing in March that if Warsh isn’t confirmed by the Senate by May 15, Powell would remain as Fed chair “pro tem” in the interim. “That’s what the law calls for. That’s what we’ve done on several occasions,” Powell said at the time. The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Warsh for April 21. However, Tillis remains a key holdout. Trump on Wednesday said he was hopeful that the Senate Banking Committee would confirm Warsh next week, saying Tillis “is an American; he knows what to do.”
Robert Hur, a lawyer representing the Fed, told one of the prosecutors not to visit the building again without a Fed lawyer present, according to correspondence obtained by CNN.
The visit – and Trump’s renewed threat to fire Powell – escalates an already extraordinary battle between the administration and the central bank. The actions and threats raise significant questions about the central bank’s prized independence and its ability to lead itself through unprecedented attempts from the White House to interfere with its affairs.
The probe
Trump said he wanted Powell out at the Fed – but not enough to ask Pirro to call off the investigation.
“Does that mean we stop a probe of a building that I would have done for $25 million that’s going to cost maybe $4 billion? Don’t you think we have to find out what happened there?” Trump said in the interview conducted at the White House. “I have to find out.”
The investigation, which Powell in January strongly rebuked as politicized, has been fraught from the start. Pirro’s subpoenas
took the White House by surprise and cast a shadow over Warsh’s nomination chances. A federal judge last month quashed the Justice Department’s subpoenas, a decision that Pirro said she plans to appeal.
The criminal investigation follows Trump’s repeated criticism of Powell’s leadership of the Fed. The president, who has constantly bashed Powell for keeping interest rates high, called Powell a “disaster” for the country Wednesday.
“Here’s a man who took this little, tiny building and a couple of other little, tiny complex, and he’s spending more than $3 billion. I want to know who the contractor is, because that contractor is making billions of dollars, perhaps.”
Trump in January nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Powell, whose term leading the central bank expires on May 15. But North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a key member of the committee that approves Fed nominees, reiterated this week that he will not vote to confirm Warsh until the Powell probe has concluded.
The Trump administration doubled down on its support for the probe this week, despite the likelihood that it will delay Warsh’s nomination and could lead to a legal faceoff with Powell that could prolong Trump’s unwanted Fed chair to stay at the central bank.
Two prosecutors working for the District of Columbia US Attorney’s office, led by Jeanine Pirro, were turned away Tuesday after showing up at the Fed’s headquarters in an unannounced visit to check on renovation progress.
“Any construction project that has cost overruns of almost 80% over the original construction budget deserves some serious review,” Pirro said in a statement. And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?”
Robert Hur, a lawyer representing the Fed, told one of the prosecutors not to visit the building again without a Fed lawyer present, according to correspondence obtained by CNN.
The visit – and Trump’s renewed threat to fire Powell – escalates an already extraordinary battle between the administration and the central bank. The actions and threats raise significant questions about the central bank’s prized independence and its ability to lead itself through unprecedented attempts from the White House to interfere with its affairs.
Firing Powell
Trump said if he’s forced to fire Powell –
a legally dubious action – so be it. “I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Trump told Bartiromo.
Powell said last month he would not step down from the Fed as long as the Department of Justice’s
criminal investigation is ongoing.
“I have no intention of leaving the Board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality,” Powell said.
Firing Powell would raise significant legal questions and would not take place immediately – Powell has said he would defend the Fed’s independence and would almost certainly challenge any action to remove him. Although Trump can legally fire Fed officials, he can do so only “for cause,” according to Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act. Whether Powell has taken any action that would fit that legal definition remains unclear, although Powell, himself a lawyer, has repeatedly said the president cannot remove him from his job.
Trump also tried to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook for cause, arguing she had committed mortgage fraud – allegations Cook denies. Cook, who remains in her role at the central bank, fought the Trump administration in a case that the Supreme Court heard in January. Justices appeared skeptical the president had the authority to remove her, and they could issue a decision as early as Friday. Powell’s term as governor ends in January 2028, but he said he has not decided whether to remain on the Board once his chairmanship ends, a step that past Fed chairs typically have not taken.
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