President Trump said in an interview with Fox Business that he would fire Powell if he did not leave the board at the end of his term.
Published April 15, 2026
US President Donald Trump said he would remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from another seat on the central bank’s board unless he voluntarily resigns when his term ends on May 15.
The president doubled down on his threats against Powell on Wednesday, saying in an interview with Fox Business that if Powell does not resign, “I have to fire him.”
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
President Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo: “If he doesn’t get home on time, I’ve been holding back on firing him, and I wanted to fire him, but I don’t want to be controversial. I don’t want to be controversial, but he’s going to be fired.”
Skanda Amarnath, executive director of economic policy think tank Employ America, told Al Jazeera: “President Trump’s threat to fire Powell is not surprising, but it is simply not consistent with the provisions of the law. The president has already lost in court trying to fire (Fed) Governor Lisa Cook, and he is likely to lose again if he tries to fire Powell.”
Mr. Trump’s comments came amid delays in the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, his nominee to replace Mr. Powell as Fed chairman. Warsh’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled for next Tuesday.
However, it remains unclear whether he will be approved. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said last month that he would block Mr. Warsh’s confirmation until the federal criminal investigation into Mr. Powell is concluded. If the nominee is not approved, Mr. Powell will remain chairman until the nominee is approved.
In an interview with Fox Business, President Trump did not suggest that District of Columbia Attorney Jeanine Pirro might withdraw from investigating the Federal Reserve Building renovation project, which the government has criticized for cost overruns.
Mr. Trump has long railed against the Fed, which has been wary of cutting interest rates, and has advocated for greater control over the central bank’s board and for more members to align with his views.
President Trump said in December that he would not appoint anyone who did not agree with him to lead the central bank.
impair independence
Mr. Powell has put off the investigation into him, saying it is an excuse to undermine the central bank’s independence in assessing monetary policy.
In March, federal prosecutors acknowledged that an investigation into the renovations found no evidence of a crime.
Mr. Warsh would have more control over his seat on the seven-member board, giving him more freedom to make monetary policy decisions and other changes to the central bank that his administration seeks.
There are only three current board members appointed by President Trump, and one of them, Fed Director Steven Milan, has already expired, so a vacancy would be required for Warsh to join.
The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for additional comment.
