President Donald Trump once again threatened to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying he will “have to fire” Powell if he does not step down when his term ends next month.
“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,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Wednesday morning.
Powell’s tenure is up on May 15. Trump’s pick to replace him, Kevin Warsh, is set for an April 21 confirmation hearing, but an ongoing federal investigation into Powell — which Democrats and some Republicans have decried as politically motivated — is complicating Warsh’s path to confirmation.
Powell, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Trump over the years, is currently being investigated for the central bank’s $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington headquarters. When the probe was launched, Powell said in an extraordinary video statement that it was “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday showed up unannounced at the Federal Reserve headquarters to inspect the construction site but were turned away, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to MS NOW. The Washington Post was the first to report the prosecutors’ visit.








