Powell says hes staying on as governor after Fed keeps interest rates steady

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he’s staying put at the central bank as a governor after his term at the helm expires next month — even as officials voted on Wednesday to hold interest rates steady.Powell confirmed he will stay on as a member of the Board of Governors after his term as chair expires May 15, extending his tenure at the Fed in defiance of efforts by President Donald Trump’s allies to pursue criminal charges against him over cost overruns tied to the central bank’s headquarters renovation.“I’ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality, and I stand by that,” Powell said Wednesday.He acknowledged the decision marks a shift from his earlier plans to step aside.“I had long planned to be retiring… [but] the things that have happened in really in the last three months… left me no choice but to stay and see them through at least that long,” Powell said.Powell emphasized his continued role will be limited, saying, “After my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time… I plan to keep a low profile as a governor.”Policymakers kept the benchmark rate in the 3.5% to 3.75% range, but the decision masked growing fractures inside the central bank over whether borrowing costs should stay elevated or begin to fall in the months ahead.Several officials objected to maintaining guidance that suggests rate cuts are more likely than hikes, while another dissented in the opposite direction and pushed for an immediate cut.The Justice Department last week formally ended its criminal investigation into Powell, which had centered on whether he misled Congress about ballooning costs tied to the multibillion-dollar renovation of the central bank’s Washington headquarters.US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said prosecutors were dropping the case and turning the matter over to the Fed’s inspector general, who will continue reviewing the project...