US President Donald Trump has threatened to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step down when his term ends in May.
The two have been locked in a long-running dispute over the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged, despite repeated calls from Trump for cuts.
Powell’s current term ends on May 15, but he is expected to remain in office until a successor, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the US Senate.
“Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business when asked about Powell’s plans to stay on.
“I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” he added.
However, the confirmation process for Warsh faces uncertainty. Thom Tillis, a senior Republican senator on the committee overseeing Federal Reserve nominations, has indicated he may block the appointment.
If Warsh is not confirmed before Powell’s term expires, Powell could legally remain in the role on a temporary basis. “That’s what the law calls for. That’s what we’ve done on several occasions,” Powell has previously said.
Tillis has also warned that he will not support Warsh’s nomination unless a criminal investigation linked to renovations at the Federal Reserve building is dropped.
Trump said he hoped Tillis would reconsider his position, describing him as “an American who knows what to do,” but insisted he would not intervene in the investigation.
“Don’t you think we have to find out what happened there? I have to find out,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell, accusing him of mismanaging the Fed’s renovation project, which he claims cost billions of dollars and could have been completed for far less. He has also called him a “knucklehead” and said he has done “a lousy job” for failing to cut interest rates.
Markets reacted nervously in 2025 when Trump first suggested he might fire Powell, briefly weighing on the US dollar and stock prices. He later walked back the comments, saying it was “highly unlikely” unless there were issues involving fraud.
Firing a sitting Federal Reserve chair would mark an unprecedented move in US economic history.
Trump originally appointed Powell in 2017 during his first term, praising his “steady leadership, sound judgement, and policy expertise,” before Powell was later reappointed by President Joe Biden in 2021.