Trump threatens to fire Powell as Warsh confirmation nears

Donald Trump said he would fire Jerome Powell if the Federal Reserve chair did not leave after a new chair was installed, escalating pressure on the central bank just as Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing drew near. Trump also said the Justice Department probe into Powell should continue, keeping the White House’s focus squarely on the Fed’s leadership and its renovation spending.

The Senate Banking Committee scheduled Warsh’s hearing for April 21, giving lawmakers less than a month to confirm Trump’s pick before Powell’s term as chair ends on May 15, 2026. Powell’s separate term as a Federal Reserve governor runs until January 31, 2028, a detail that could let him remain on the board even after stepping down as chair.

That possibility has turned Powell’s future into a live institutional fight, not just a personnel question. Trump’s comments on April 15 made clear he expected a clean exit if Warsh replaces him, and his warning that he would fire Powell if necessary added new uncertainty around the transition at the top of the central bank.

The confrontation has been intensified by the administration’s scrutiny of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation in Washington, where projected costs have climbed to about $2.5 billion from earlier estimates near $1.9 billion. The Justice Department investigation is examining whether Powell misled Congress about the overruns, and Powell has said the inquiry is a pretext for removing him.

The White House push has also been complicated by delays in Warsh’s confirmation process. He had been expected to get an earlier hearing, but the Banking Committee postponed it after it had not received required paperwork in time. That delay narrowed the window for a Senate vote before Powell’s chairmanship ends.

The stakes reach beyond Powell and Warsh. A public fight over whether a president can force out a Fed chair after naming a successor cuts directly at the central bank’s independence, a principle that markets watch closely when judging interest-rate policy and the credibility of U.S. monetary decisions. As the renovation investigation and the confirmation battle move forward together, the message to investors is blunt: political pressure on the Fed is still very much in play.