7 hours ago
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has stated he will not resign from the central bank's board until the investigation initiated by President Donald Trump's Justice Department into his congressional testimony last year is fully resolved.
"I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality," Powell said Wednesday during a press conference in Washington, D.C.
Powell also indicated he might remain on the board even if the probe concludes and Trump's nominee to succeed him as chair, economist Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate.
"On the question of whether I will then continue to serve as a governor after my term ends and after the investigation is over, I have not made that decision yet," Powell told reporters at the Fed's headquarters. "I will make that decision based on what I think is best for the institution and for the people we serve."
Powell's statement highlights the failure of a yearlong campaign led by Trump and his allies to remove Powell from the Federal Reserve and replace him with someone more closely aligned with the president.
Powell's term as chair of the central bank ends in May. However, his term as a governor on the Fed's board, which includes voting rights on interest rates, extends until 2028.
He also said he would remain as chair pro tempore of the Fed if Warsh is not confirmed by the time his chair term expires in May.
As of Wednesday, Warsh's Senate confirmation process had not advanced beyond initial meetings.
In January, Trump's Justice Department subpoenaed Powell and the Fed regarding a renovation project at the central bank's Washington D.C. headquarters. Powell described the federal probe as an "intimidation" tactic within Trump's ongoing pressure campaign to push Powell toward interest rate cuts.
The administration cited the renovation project and its apparent cost overruns as evidence of Powell's alleged mismanagement of the Fed.
On Capitol Hill, Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has opposed his party by repeatedly calling the Trump-endorsed DOJ probe "bogus."
Tillis, serving on the influential Senate Banking Committee, has used his position to delay Warsh's confirmation process.
On Friday, a federal judge blocked the subpoenas, ruling they were issued with "essentially zero evidence" to support them.
Following the ruling, Tillis stated it "confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence."
Tillis urged U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro not to appeal the ruling and to end the investigation.
However, Pirro refused and held a fiery press conference after the ruling, with her office promptly filing an appeal.
For over a year, Trump and his top allies have pressured Powell and other Fed members to cut interest rates more aggressively. Their tactics have included social media attacks, cable news tirades, and allegations of wrongdoing, but with little success.
On Wednesday, the Fed's Open Market Committee voted 11-1 to keep interest rates steady. The sole dissenting vote, favoring a rate cut, came from Trump's nominee and former White House official, Stephen Miran.
