Trump Issues Ultimatum to Jerome Powell: Vacate Federal Reserve Chair by May 15 or Be Fired

President Donald Trump threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not vacate his position by May 15, 2026, escalating a months-long confrontation over interest rates and a criminal investigation into a 2.5 (billion USD) — cost of Fed headquarters renovation under DOJ probe renovation of the central bank's Washington headquarters. Trump made the threat during a Fox Business interview that aired Wednesday, saying of Powell: "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, you know. I want to be uncontroversial, but he will be fired." The president simultaneously ruled out dropping the DOJ probe, framing it not only as a criminal inquiry but also as a "probe on incompetence" directed at Powell. Trump's nominee to succeed Powell, Kevin Warsh, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on April 21, leaving just 24 days — and 13 Senate session days — for a full confirmation before the May 15 deadline.

A lone Republican senator holds Warsh's fate Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to block Warsh's nomination from advancing to the Senate floor until the DOJ ends its probe of Powell, creating a critical obstacle for the White House. The committee holds a 13-to-11 Republican majority, meaning Tillis's opposition alone is sufficient to produce a stalemate. Trump acknowledged the standoff in the Fox Business interview, saying he would "have to live with" the situation if Tillis did not back down, while also dismissing the senator's position as the posturing of a retiring lawmaker. Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, has received warm signals from other Republican lawmakers, but broader Republican unease over the DOJ probe's implications for central bank independence threatens his path to the 51 Senate votes he needs. Scott Alvarez, who previously served as the Fed's general counsel, was direct in his assessment. „They're about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by pursuing this unsupported political investigation” — Scott Alvarez via The New York Times Even if the White House attempted to bypass the committee, the wider Republican disquiet over the probe makes a floor confirmation before May 15 a difficult prospect.

Judge quashed subpoenas, but prosecutors showed up anyway U.S. District Judge James Boasberg quashed DOJ subpoenas issued to the Fed in January, ruling that the investigation appeared designed to pressure Powell rather than uncover genuine wrongdoing. „The Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President. There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will” — James Boasberg via NPR Boasberg subsequently denied the department's request to reconsider his judgment. Despite the ruling, two prosecutors and a criminal investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office showed up unannounced at the Fed's headquarters construction site on Tuesday seeking a tour, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times — a visit the Fed's outside counsel Robert Hur characterized as an attempt to circumvent the court order. Pirro, who has served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia since May 2025 and is a longtime Trump ally, defended the probe, saying in a statement: "Any construction project that has cost overruns of almost 80 percent over the original construction budget deserves some serious review." A federal prosecutor had separately admitted in March that the investigation had turned up no evidence of a crime, according to Al Jazeera.

Powell digs in, Supreme Court watches a parallel fight Powell has made clear he does not intend to leave quietly, stating last month that if his successor is not confirmed by the end of his term as chair, he would serve as chair pro tem — a position he said the law explicitly provides for and one that has been used on prior occasions. „That is what the law calls for. And that's what we're going to do in this situation” — Jerome Powell via NPR Beyond the chairmanship, Powell's term as a Fed governor does not expire until January 2028, giving him the legal basis to remain on the Board of Governors for nearly two more years and preventing Trump from filling that seat. Powell has also stated he will not leave the board until the DOJ investigation is concluded with transparency and finality. The legal landscape surrounding Trump's ability to remove Fed officials remains unsettled: the Supreme Court is currently weighing the legality of Trump's attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and the high court has allowed Cook to remain in her position while that case is pending. Some Trump allies have argued the president could designate one of his existing Fed nominees — such as Stephen Miran, Michelle Bowman, or Christopher Waller — as acting chair if Warsh is not confirmed in time, citing a memo from the Carter administration era and a 1983 opinion by then-White House counsel John Roberts. The Federal Reserve has operated under statutory protections for its independence since its founding in 1913. The tradition that a sitting chair may remain in place as chair pro tem until a successor is confirmed has precedent in prior administrations, including situations involving Powell himself. The legal question of whether a president may remove a Fed governor without cause has not been definitively settled by the Supreme Court, making the Cook case a potentially landmark ruling for central bank governance.