Trump threatens to fire Powell if he does not resign from Fed

President Donald Trump vowed to fire Jerome Powell if he opted to stay on at the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends, doubling down on a criminal investigation into the central bank that is threatening to delay the confirmation of Powell's successor.

Powell's tenure as chair officially ends May 15, but both the law and past precedent suggest that he can serve on a temporary basis until Trump's pick to replace him, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate. Powell's term as a Fed governor also runs well beyond that date, allowing him to stay on at the central bank until 2028.

The process to confirm Warsh has been complicated by the Justice Department's investigation into Powell and his handling of costly renovations at the Fed's headquarters in Washington. Trump said in a Fox Business interview that aired Wednesday that the investigation was not just about the $2.5 billion project but also about Powell's "incompetence."

Powell has blasted the investigation as a pretext to pressure the Fed to lower borrowing costs, which has long been Trump's goal when it comes to the Fed.

This month, a judge denied the Justice Department's request to reconsider an earlier ruling that quashed subpoenas issued to the central bank. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a longtime friend and ally of Trump, has not officially appealed the decision but has shown no sign of dropping it, either.

On Tuesday, prosecutors from her office made an unannounced visit to the active construction site, prompting a rebuke from the Fed's outside counsel, who called the tour "inappropriate" and asked Pirro's office to "commit" to no similar actions without the presence of Fed lawyers.

Pirro defended the visit, however, in a statement to The New York Times on Wednesday.

"Any construction project that has cost overruns of almost 80% over the original construction budget deserves some serious review," she said. "And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?"

Powell has made clear that he has "no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality." His decision to stay or to go would ultimately be based on what he thought was "best for the institution and for the people we serve," Powell said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.