As political pressure and legal scrutiny intensify, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has made clear what would force him to step down.
Powell, who holds one of the most influential posts in U.S. economic policymaking, has made clear he won’t step aside absent a legal violation.
That stance is detailed in an excerpt from “Trillion Dollar Triage,” in which Wall Street Journal economic correspondent Nick Timiraos chronicles Powell’s measured public responses and more candid private reactions to Trump’s ongoing threats to fire him.
A LOOK AT THE UNFOLDING BATTLE BETWEEN TRUMP AND POWELL OVER FED POLICY
Powell’s commitment to the Fed, amid Trump’s mounting criticism, became apparent in 2019 during a House Committee on Financial Services hearing. When asked by California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters what he would do if Trump fired him, Powell said he would continue to serve his four-year term.
According to Timiraos, in private, Powell was more forthright about his determination to continue leading the world’s most influential central bank.
“I will never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily until my term ends under any circumstances. None, whatsoever,” Powell said. “You will not see me getting in the lifeboat,” he said, invoking a metaphor to signal his resolve to stay the course.
“It doesn’t occur to me in the slightest that there would be any situation in which I would not complete my term other than dying,” Powell said, according to Timiraos.
TRUMP CALLS FED CHAIR POWELL A ‘CLOWN’ AND SLAMS FED RENOVATION
Powell’s long-standing insistence on finishing his term, which ends in May, now comes amid a Justice Department criminal investigation into his congressional testimony on the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation.
Powell confirmed the investigation and said he respected the rule of law and congressional oversight, but described the action as “unprecedented” and driven by political pressure.
“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell said in a video statement Sunday evening.
“The threat of criminal charges is 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,” he added.
The White House referred questions to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION
The project to update the Federal Reserve’s two main Washington, D.C., office buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood is expected to cost $2.5 billion and is being paid for by the central bank, not taxpayers. The Fed funds its operations without congressional appropriations, drawing revenue primarily from interest on government securities and fees charged to financial institutions.
In June 2025, Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee that “There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. They’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There are no beehives, and there’s no roof garden terraces.”
Powell also told lawmakers that no one “wants to do a major renovation of a historic building during their term in office.”
“We decided to take it on because, honestly, when I was the administrative governor, before I became chair, I came to understand how badly the Eccles Building really needed a serious renovation,” Powell said, adding that the building is “not really safe” and not waterproof.
He also said that the cost overruns are due, in part, to unexpected construction challenges and the nation’s inflation rate.
The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, with Washington-based employees expected to begin working on the building in March 2028.
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