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.
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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Senate Banking Committee who has criticized the probe, has vowed to block Warsh’s confirmation until the investigation into Powell wraps.
Powell has said he would remain as Fed chair “pro tem” if Warsh isn’t confirmed to the position by the Senate by May 15, in line with regulations.
Despite Tillis’ protests, Trump told Bartiromo that he supported the investigation.
“Does that mean we stop a probe of a building that I would have done for $25 million that’s going to cost maybe $4 billion? Don’t you think we have to find out what happened there?” Trump said. “Whether it’s incompetence, corruption or both, I think you have to find out. … I have to find out.”
Ken Dilanian contributed to this reporting.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.