Trump will be furious as an old foe digs in his heels |
Trump will be furious as an old foe digs in his heels
April 30, 2026 — 11:57am
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Jerome Powell may have chaired his last Federal Reserve Board meeting on Wednesday, but he’s hanging around while he remains at personal legal risk and the Fed’s independence remains under threat from Donald Trump.
At the last press conference of his eight-year stint as chairman of the Fed, Powell, whose term as a governor doesn’t formally expire until January 2028, revealed that he will become the first Fed chair since 1948 to remain on the board of governors after their term as chair expired.
“After my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time to be determined,” he said.
Powell has, throughout his term, been subjected to an escalating series of attacks from Trump, who has been unhappy that the Fed hasn’t cut US interest rates more. Those attacks culminated in a criminal investigation of Powell over cost overruns in the renovation of the central bank’s Washington headquarters.
While the Justice Department suspended that investigation last week, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, has said she would not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.
‘Unprecedented attacks’: Fed chair takes aim at Trump as he vows to stay on board
Powell said he had decided to stay on as a governor because of the legal attacks on him and another Fed governor, Lisa Cook, who the Trump administration has accused (without presenting any evidence) of mortgage fraud as an obvious pretext for removing her and creating an opening for another Trump appointee.
“I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors,” Powell said.
He warned that the Fed’s independence was at risk and said he would remain a........