President Trump threatens to fire Powell if Fed chair does not resign voluntarily

President Donald Trump on Wednesday again threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, saying an investigation into the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters must continue.

If Powell remains on the Fed’s board after a replacement is chosen, Trump has said he intends to remove him from office.

“If that happens, we’ll have no choice but to fire him,” the president said in an interview with Fox Business. “If he didn’t come home on time, I was discouraged from firing him. I wanted to fire him, but I don’t like being controversial. I want to be uncontroversial.”

Chairman Powell’s term expires on May 15, and President Trump has nominated former Fed Director Kevin Warsh to replace him.

Mr. Powell’s term as chairman is almost over, but he still has two years left in his term as president. Most past Fed chairmen have left the central bank after being replaced, but Powell has balked at repeated questions about what he plans to do next.

Mr. Powell’s departure as chairman has been complicated by an investigation into renovations to the Fed’s headquarters. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in Washington, D.C., tried to subpoena Powell for information about the project but was denied by a judge, a decision she said she would appeal.

At the same time, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he would block Warsh’s nomination from leaving the Senate Banking Committee until the investigation is complete.

President Trump said the investigation must continue.

“What they’ve been doing so far is probably corrupt, but it’s actually incompetence, and we have to demonstrate that incompetence,” he said.

President Trump’s bid last year to replace Governor Lisa Cook following allegations of mortgage fraud has so far been unsuccessful. The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court and is awaiting a decision.

The president also reiterated his call for lower interest rates and said he was confident Mr. Warsh would get it done.