President Donald Trump said his administration doesn’t plan to drop the Department of Justice’s probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and again threatened to fire him if he stays in the role past mid-May.
Trump has nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to the position, but Powell has said he’ll stay on a temporary basis if Warsh isn’t confirmed before May 15, when Powell’s term as chair ends.
“Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business on April 15 in response to a question about Powell potentially staying on. “If he’s not leaving on time — I’ve held back on firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him. But I hate to be controversial. I want to be uncontroversial.”
What’s Holding Up the Transition
Warsh has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. After a paperwork delay, he has since filed required financial disclosures, setting up a Senate confirmation hearing next week. But his confirmation isn’t guaranteed. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, vowed to stall any Fed nominations until the Justice Department ends its probe into Powell, which relates to the budget for a major renovation project at the central bank’s headquarters.
Former Fed Chairs Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke, and Alan Greenspan called the criminal inquiry “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine” the central bank’s independence in January. Powell himself condemned it in a rare video statement.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, told Fox Business on April 14 that he was confident the Justice Department would “wrap up” its investigation and that Warsh would assume the role “in the next few weeks.”
But Trump told Fox Business his administration has no intention of dropping the probe.
“Whether it’s incompetence, corruption, or both, I think you have to find out,” Trump said.
Even if Warsh is confirmed by May 15, Powell has said he plans to stay on the Fed’s Board of Governors — where his term doesn’t end until January 2028 — until the Justice Department’s investigation is “truly over.”
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