President Donald Trump intensifies his clash with Jerome Powell while nominee Kevin Warsh faces Senate gridlock

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has roughly three weeks left in his term helming the central bank. President Donald Trump doesn’t seem willing to let him go without a fight. 

The next chapter of the long-running standoff could chip away at the Fed’s independence and destabilize financial markets as the Iran war drags down global economic activity. The International Monetary Fund slashed its international growth forecast by 0.2% to 3.1% last week, a fresh sign of the war’s economic toll.

Now the Federal Reserve re-enters the stage. Trump has stated he’s not dropping a criminal probe into Powell related to the cost of renovating the Fed’s aging headquarters. Beyond that, the president has said that if Powell stays at his post past the final day of his term on May 15, he will fire him.

The moves greatly complicate the path ahead for Kevin Warsh, the president’s nominee to replace Powell as Fed chair.........

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