Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that he would stay as chair of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee if Kevin Warsh is not confirmed by the time Powell’s term as chair ends May 15, as a Justice Department investigation into Powell’s earlier comments remains under way. The comments came as President Donald Trump has sought to replace Powell and has nominated Warsh to succeed him.
Powell’s remarks also highlighted how the investigation has become entangled with the Senate confirmation process for Fed leadership. Trump has nominated Warsh, but the nomination has been delayed, Sen. Thom Tillis said, pending the outcome of the Justice Department investigation into brief comments Powell made before the Senate Banking Committee last June about the Fed’s building renovation.
Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he will not vote to confirm any Federal Reserve nominees until the investigation is dropped. With all Democrats on the committee also opposed to moving forward, Tillis’ position has effectively blocked the committee from advancing Warsh’s nomination.
Powell said on Wednesday that he would remain in the interest-rate setting role after his term ends if no successor has been confirmed. He also said he could stay even longer if the investigation continues. “I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality,” Powell told reporters.
In addition to his chair role, Powell is a member of the Fed’s seven-person governing board until January 2028. The report said chairs typically step off the board when they are no longer chair, but Powell could remain on the board, which would limit Trump’s ability to fill another seat.
Powell declined to say whether he would step down after the investigation is completed. “I have not made that decision yet,” he said. “I will make that decision based on what I think is best for the institution and the people we serve.”
The Justice Department’s investigation has also faced setbacks in court. The report said the investigation was “severely hobbled” last week when a federal court threw out two subpoenas issued by Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, that sought information from the Fed about its $2.5 billion building renovation. In the judge’s ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote that the subpoenas’ dominant purpose was to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed chair who would.
Pirro said she would appeal the decision and told reporters she was unconcerned with any delays to Warsh’s ability to take over. The report said Pirro remarked, “I don’t even know who he is,” referring to Warsh, and added that politics was not the lane she is in right now while focusing on the law.
Separately, the JFK Library Foundation said Thursday that it would present the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award to Powell on May 31. The foundation said the award would recognize Powell for “protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve … despite years of personal attacks and threats from the highest levels of government,” and said that by resisting that pressure, Powell “safeguarded one of the country’s most essential apolitical institutions.”