Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said he would remain as a central bank governor “for a period” after his chairmanship ends and maintain a “low profile,” suggesting he’s unconvinced an investigation into the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters won’t resume.
The central bank chair said he had "no choice" to remain at the Federal Reserve.
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Powell, who spoke Wednesday after the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates between 3.5% and 3.75%, said he would stay on its Board of Governors “for a period of time to be determined.”
Powell noted his decision stems from a “series of legal attacks” facing the Federal Reserve, adding, “I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public,” which Powell said is the “ability to conduct monetary policy” without political interference.
“I will leave when I think it is appropriate to do so,” Powell said, adding he previously signaled he would not leave the Fed until an investigation into its renovation project was “well and truly over, and I stand by that.
Powell said it is “so important for our economy, for the people that we serve” that the central bank operate “free of political influence” and that the criticism the Federal Reserve faced over the last year from the Trump administration is “unprecedented in our 113-year history.”
Powell’s move to remain at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors is historically rare: He will be the first to do so since Marriner Eccles, whose term as central bank chair ended in 1948, before he continued as governor until 1951.
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has criticized Powell and the Federal Reserve as “too late” for not cutting interest rates more quickly. Trump, who appointed Powell to the role in 2017 and reportedly floated firing Powell in 2018, has repeatedly said he would love to remove Powell as Fed chair while interest rates were “too high.” Powell's refusal to resign entirely from the Federal Reserve prevents Trump from filling a vacant seat, after Trump appointed Miran to the central bank last year as a consistent vote for interest rate cuts.
The Justice Department in January launched an investigation into alleged fiscal mismanagement by Powell and the Federal Reserve related to renewal projects for two central bank buildings. Early estimates indicated renovations to the buildings, which the Fed said had not been updated since their construction in the 1930s, would cost about $1.9 billion, even as spending came to about $2.5 billion. An earlier audit of the renovation project found no evidence of wrongdoing in 2021, and Powell requested the central bank’s internal watchdog to conduct a second review last year amid broader pressure from the Trump administration. The DOJ dropped its investigation last week in favor of a review by the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve, though prosecutors said they would “not hesitate” to restart a criminal investigation if necessary. Powell has consistently denied wrongdoing.
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