Trump Says He’ll Fire Jerome Powell From the Fed Board Entirely If He Doesn’t Leave.

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On April 15, 2026, the President of the United States went on Fox Business and told Maria Bartiromo he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from the Board of Governors entirely if Powell doesn’t step down when his chair term expires on May 15. “Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump said. “I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial, you know?” The man who launched a war, attacked the Pope, and threatened to subpoena reporters — he hates to be controversial.

Here is what is actually happening. Trump wants Powell gone because Powell won’t cut interest rates on command. The Federal Reserve lowered rates three times in late 2025, but not fast enough or far enough for a president who believes the economy should be run like a casino where he owns the house. So he had Jeanine Pirro — the Fox News host turned US Attorney for DC — open a criminal investigation into Powell. The stated pretext: a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters that Trump claims he could have done for $25 million.

The Investigation Is Retaliation. Powell Said So. A Judge Agreed.

In January 2026, Powell went public. He disclosed the grand jury subpoenas and said the investigation was a “pretext” — that the real purpose was to pressure the Fed into cutting rates. Pirro’s office had been sending inquiries to the Fed since November 2025, then issued two grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve itself. The Fed didn’t comply. Pirro held a press conference calling it obstruction.

On March 13, 2026, a federal judge quashed both subpoenas. Judge James Boasberg ruled that Pirro’s office needed to show something “akin to probable cause” before compelling the Fed to hand over documents — and couldn’t meet that standard. The judge effectively said the subpoenas were a pretext, not a legitimate investigation. Pirro was furious. “Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve,” she said. She vowed to appeal.

Five days later, Powell drew a line. At his March 18 press conference, he said he would not leave the Board of Governors while the investigation remained open. His Board term runs until January 2028. He has every legal right to stay. If Warsh isn’t confirmed by May 15, Powell said he would serve as “chair pro tem” — which is exactly what the Federal Reserve Act provides for.

Tillis Is Blocking Warsh. Trump Doesn’t Care.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has said explicitly and repeatedly that he will not support the confirmation of any nominee to the Fed Board — including Warsh — until the DOJ drops its investigation of Powell. “Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable,” Tillis wrote on X. He told CBS’s Face the Nation in February that his position is final: “Until the matter is solved, I’m a no.”

The math matters. The Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Tim Scott, has scheduled a hearing for Warsh next week. But Tillis sits on that committee. If he blocks the markup vote, Warsh doesn’t advance. Even if Warsh gets out of committee, the full Senate vote is tight enough that one Republican defection in a 53–47 chamber is a problem — especially when that senator has made his position a matter of public principle.

Trump’s response to the Tillis blockade, on Fox Business: “That’s why Thom Tillis is no longer a senator.” Tillis isn’t seeking re-election in 2026. Trump called him “a good man” who he didn’t believe would “hurt” Warsh’s chances, then added: “He’s on his way out… and I think he doesn’t want the legacy of stopping a great person.” Translation: I’ll keep the pressure on Powell, and the retiring senator will fold because he cares about legacy.

Can He Actually Fire a Fed Governor?

This is not a settled question. The Federal Reserve Act says governors can be removed “for cause” by the president. No president has ever tried. In September 2025, Trump attempted to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. A federal court blocked the firing as unlawful. The case went to the Supreme Court. As of this writing, a decision hasn’t been handed down.

If the Supreme Court rules that the president can fire Fed governors at will — which is what Trump’s solicitor general is arguing — then the independence of the Federal Reserve is functionally over. Any president who doesn’t like the interest rate decision could fire governors until they get one who complies. That is not how the Fed has worked since 1913. That is how it would work going forward.

Even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at a CNBC forum on April 15, couldn’t guarantee Warsh would be confirmed by May 16. “I don’t know,” Bessent said when asked directly. He added that he hopes “everyone will work to have him there on May 16.” Senator Tim Scott said separately that the DOJ would “finish and wrap this up in the next several weeks” and that Tillis would then be a yes. Nobody seems to have asked Tillis whether he agrees with that characterization.

What This Is Actually About

Trump told Bartiromo: “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?” When asked directly if he would advise Pirro to end the probe, he said no.

The renovation is real. The cost increases are real. The Fed says they were driven by design changes, asbestos, contaminated soil, and higher-than-expected labor costs. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) referred the matter to the DOJ in July 2025, claiming the project was $700 million over budget. But nobody — not Luna, not Pirro, not Trump — has produced evidence that Powell personally committed a crime. A judge looked at the subpoenas and said the government couldn’t even meet the threshold for investigating. That judge didn’t say “case dismissed.” He said: you don’t even have enough to ask questions.

This is about interest rates. It has always been about interest rates. Trump appointed Powell in 2017. He spent 2018 and 2019 publicly attacking Powell for not cutting rates. He pressured Powell throughout his first term. Now he has a US Attorney who was a Fox News host running a criminal investigation into the Fed chair, a judge who said it was a pretext, a senator from his own party who said it’s political intimidation, and a replacement nominee who can’t get confirmed because of the mess Trump created. His answer to all of this is: I’ll just fire him.

The Federal Reserve has operated independently from presidential control for 113 years. Not because there’s a magic force field. Because every previous president understood that the moment you let the guy in the Oval Office set interest rates, the economy becomes a political weapon and the dollar becomes a campaign prop. Trump doesn’t understand that. Or he does, and he doesn’t care. Either way, we are 30 days from finding out what happens when the president of the United States tries to seize control of the central bank on live television and calls it accountability.

Sources

• Fox Business: Trump on Fox Business with Bartiromo, April 15, 2026 — “Then I’ll have to fire him”; “I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him”; said building “would have done for $25 million”; called Tillis “no longer a senator”; refused to advise Pirro to drop the probe.
• CNN (via KRDO): Trump threatens to fire Powell if he does not step aside when chair term expires May 15; “Then I’ll have to fire him”; interview conducted at the White House.
• Daily Sabah/AFP: Powell’s chair term expires May 15; Board of Governors term runs until 2028; Powell said he won’t leave until investigation “well and truly over, with transparency and finality”; Bessent told CNBC he hopes everyone works to have Warsh confirmed by May 16.
• Washington Examiner: Powell at March 18, 2026 press conference — “I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality”; Powell’s Board term ends 2028; would serve as chair pro tem if Warsh not confirmed.
• CBS News: Tillis on Face the Nation, February 2026 — “Until the matter is solved, I’m a no”; “Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable”; Warsh hearing details; Tillis blocks markup as committee member.
• Fox Business: Pirro said Fed ignored outreach; investigation began November 2025; renovation cost $2.5 billion; Rep. Luna referred matter to DOJ July 2025 claiming $700 million overrun; Fed cited asbestos, soil contamination, design changes.
• Politico: Federal judge quashed DOJ subpoenas as “mere pretext” to coerce rate cuts; Pirro vowed to appeal; Powell press conference March 18.
• Chase/JPMorgan: Explainer on Powell’s terms — chair term ends May 2026, Board of Governors term ends January 2028; Fed governors serve staggered 14-year terms; historically most chairs resign from Board after stepping down.

Related coverage

• EOH: Trump tried to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook — court blocked it, case at the Supreme Court
• EOH: Pirro’s office is losing cases and investigating the Fed chair
• EOH: Acting AG Blanche’s conflicts and the DOJ under Trump