Trump Signals Powell's Job on the Line Ahead of May 15

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he would remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if Powell remains in the job after his term ends on May 15, according to comments Trump made to Fox Business. The report, dated April 25, 2024, described the threat as part of a wider clash tied to the Fed’s interest-rate approach and a criminal investigation involving Powell connected to a Federal Reserve building renovation.

Trump indicated he would act if Powell does not leave by May, even though Powell has said he intends to stay in the role until a successor is confirmed. The account framed the dispute as both policy-driven—focused on the central bank’s rate decisions—and complicated by the ongoing probe linked to the renovation.

In Congress, Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who sits on the committee that oversees Federal Reserve nominations, said he would block confirmation of Trump’s preferred candidate, Kevin Warsh, unless the criminal investigation into Powell is dropped. Trump, however, said he is not ready to stop the investigation, leaving the nomination path exposed to a potential standoff between the White House’s preference and Senate leverage.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was optimistic that Warsh would be confirmed before May 15. The timeline matters because Powell has said he would remain in place until a successor is confirmed, while Trump’s remarks suggested he would not accept Powell staying beyond the term’s expiration date.

The report noted that a president removing a sitting Federal Reserve chair would be unprecedented and would represent a sharp break from long-standing expectations around the central bank’s independence. The Fed’s leadership structure and the norms around continuity have historically been treated as a stabilizing feature for U.S. monetary policy, particularly for investors and governments that rely on predictable decision-making from the world’s most influential central bank.

Separately, the report referenced earlier coverage from 2025 saying Trump had weighed firing Powell, which contributed to market swings at the time. It also said Trump later denied having immediate plans to remove Powell, unless fraud was involved.

As of the April 25, 2024 report, the key uncertainty remains whether Powell would depart by May 15, whether Warsh could be confirmed on the timeline described by Bessent, and how the criminal investigation tied to the renovation proceeds alongside the political and nomination process.