Trump threatens to fire Fed's Powell if he does not step down

President Trump renewed his threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step down – adding that he has no intention of ending the government’s criminal investigation into him.“I’ll have to fire him, okay, 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’ “Mornings with Maria” in an interview that aired Wednesday morning.“I want to be uncontroversial.But he will be fired,” the president added.Powell has vowed to stay on as “chairman pro tem” if his successor is not confirmed by May 15 – and though a Senate nomination hearing has been scheduled for next Tuesday, Trump’s pick, Kevin Warsh, is still facing a key roadblock.Sen.

Thom Tillis (R-NC) doubled down on his own threat to block any of Trump’s nominees from confirmation until the government drops its investigation into Powell.“I am off on any vote for Warsh until this gets resolved,” Tillis told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “So next week at the committee hearing, I’m not going to spend time talking to Mr.Warsh.

I’m fine with his credentials.I’m going to spend five minutes talking about the lunacy of this investigation,” he added.Still, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has voiced confidence about Warsh’s prospects, saying at a White House briefing on Wednesday: “I am very ​optimistic that Kevin Warsh ​will ⁠be the Chair of the Fed on ⁠time.”He added that Warsh is a “great candidate” and the GOP members of the voting committee “are aligned in that.”For his part, Powell has said he plans to remain on the board at least until the Department of Justice’s investigation into him is over.

The DOJ probe has focused on his June 2025 comments to the Senate about an over-budget project to renovate the Fed’s Washington, DC, headquarters, the whopping $2.5 billion price tag of which was first reported by The Post.Even after his time as chair ends, P...