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US President Donald Trump said he has “held back” on firing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell ahead of the end of Powell’s term in May, while also threatening to remove him if he stays beyond the official deadline.
Powell has about a month left in the role, with his term set to end on 15 May. Trump said during an interview on Fox Business that he would “have to fire him” if Powell does not leave on time, adding: “I’ve held back firing him. I wanted to fire him, but I had to be controversial, you know? I want to be uncontroversial.”
Trump reiterated his criticism of Powell, saying the Fed is doing a “bad job” and that Powell “should be lowering interest rates.” The president has made similar arguments since returning to office in January 2025, contrasting with the Fed’s slower, more cautious approach.
Trump’s comments come as the White House advances his new nominee to lead the central bank. In January, Trump announced Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, as his pick for Fed chair. Warsh has been critical of the Fed for keeping rates too high, and many observers expect he would be more receptive to Trump’s calls for rate cuts if confirmed.
Warsh’s nomination hearing before the Senate banking committee is scheduled for 21 April. However, it remains unclear whether Senate Republicans have enough votes to move the nomination forward.
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina and a member of the banking committee, said he will block Warsh’s nomination until the Department of Justice ends a criminal investigation into Powell related to renovations at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, DC. Tillis said he supports Warsh’s nomination but described the Powell investigation as “reaching the point of absurd”.
The investigation appears to be ongoing. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed source and a letter, that prosecutors showed up unannounced on Tuesday at the construction site for the Fed’s renovations.
During the Fox interview, Trump discussed the Fed headquarters renovations at length, alleging without evidence that the project “is probably corrupt,” while also describing it as “incompetence.” He indicated he was not concerned about the possibility that Tillis could block Warsh’s nomination over the investigation.
Trump said: “Does that mean we stop a probe of a building that I could’ve done for $25m that’s going to cost maybe $4bn? Don’t you think we have to find out what happened there?” He added: “Whether it’s incompetence, corruption or both, I think you have to find out.”
In January, Powell issued a rare rebuke to Trump and described the investigation as a “pretext” tied to the Fed’s refusal to carry out the president’s wishes to lower interest rates.
Powell said at the time: “The Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project.” He added that the issue is whether the Fed can continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, rather than having monetary policy directed by “political pressure or intimidation.”
Even if Trump intends to fire Powell, it is unclear whether the US Supreme Court would allow it. The court still has to rule on Trump’s firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook last summer. In January oral arguments, justices—including those in the court’s conservative bloc—appeared skeptical about the president’s ability to fire a Fed board member without cause and investigation.
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