Trump threatens to fire Powell if he doesn’t exit Fed

US President Donald Trump said he would fire Mr Jerome Powell if the Fed chair does not step down “in time”, adding that he would not drop the Justice Department investigation into the central bank leader.

“I’ll have to fire him, OK, if he’s not leaving on time. I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox Business.

“I want to be uncontroversial. But he will be fired,” he said in the interview that aired on April 15.

Mr Powell’s stint as the leader of the central bank expires in May, but his term on the board of governors does not end until 2028. Mr Trump did not clarify the timeline for which he would seek to remove Mr Powell.

Mr Powell has said that if his successor is not confirmed before his term as chair ends in May, he would serve as chair pro tempore. The Fed has conferred that temporary designation in the past on a board member to lead the institution when the chair role was vacant. 

Trump allies have hoped that Mr Powell would also resign his board seat when his time leading the central bank comes to a close this spring.

Mr Powell, however, has said he has “no intention” of resigning from the board until the Trump administration’s investigation by the Department of Justice into a building renovation project is “well and truly over”.

But in the interview, Mr Trump suggested he had no plan to end the investigation. 

“Whether it’s incompetence, corruption or both, I think you have to find out. I really do; I think you have to find out,” he said. 

The investigation could also delay getting Mr Powell’s designated successor, Mr Kevin Warsh, confirmed.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a key swing voter on the banking committee, has praised Mr Warsh but insists he will block confirmation until the DOJ probe is resolved, calling the investigation a threat to the Fed’s independence.

That sets up a potential showdown between Mr Trump and Mr Powell in the coming weeks that would likely morph into a legal battle testing the limits of Mr Trump’s power.

The president has also sought to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook, a case which has gone to the Supreme Court and has yet to be decided.

Despite Mr Tillis’ stance, the Senate Banking Committee has scheduled an April 21 confirmation hearing for Mr Warsh.

US prosecutors made a surprise visit to the Fed’s offices in Washington on April 14, but were denied entry to the site. BLOOMBERG