Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said today he will remain on the Fed board following the end of his term as chairman on May 15, pointing to remarks by Trump administration officials that a criminal investigation of the central bank may not be over.
Powell announced in January that the Department of Justice launched an investigation into his testimony before Congress about cost overruns of renovations at the Fed’s headquarters. He accused the administration of targeting the Fed’s independence because President Trump was unhappy that the central bank did not lower interest rates at a faster pace. The DOJ has since referred the matter to the Fed’s inspector general, but DOJ officials and Trump have suggested the criminal case could be reopened at a later date.
At his last press conference as chairman, Powell said he had intended to retire from the board following the end of his chairmanship. Now he plans to remain on the board for an indefinite amount of time. His term as a Fed governor ends in 2028.
“I’ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by that,” Powell said. “I am encouraged by recent developments and watching the remaining steps in this process carefully. My decisions on these matters will continue to be guided entirely by what I believe is in the best interest of the institution and the people we serve.”
Powell called the DOJ’s legal actions “unprecedented” in the Fed’s 113-year history.
“I worry these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors,” he said.
