Trump Issues Ultimatum to Fed Chair Powell: Leave by May 15 or Be Fired
In a Fox Business interview, President Trump declared he will fire Jerome Powell if the Fed chair does not step down when his term expires next month — setting up a constitutional showdown over the independence of the Federal Reserve.
President Donald Trump escalated his long-running feud with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, issuing what amounted to an ultimatum: step down when your term as chairman expires next month, or be fired. The warning, delivered in a Fox Business interview with anchor Maria Bartiromo, marks the most direct threat Trump has made against the Fed's independence since returning to office in January 2025.
"If he's not leaving on time, I've held back firing him," Trump said. "I've wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial. I want to be uncontroversial." He continued: "If he stays on the board of the Fed past May 15, then I'll have to fire him, OK?" Powell's chairmanship formally expires on May 15, 2026. Trump has nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell in the top job, a selection that has received cautious support from Wall Street but faces a significant Senate obstacle.
The confrontation is complicated by an unusual legal entanglement. The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Powell, alleging he provided false testimony to Congress about the Federal Reserve's $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington headquarters. Powell has stated through his office that he will not resign voluntarily until the investigation is resolved and a confirmed successor is in place. That position has put him on a collision course with the White House, which wants a clean transition before the May 15 deadline.
Warsh's path to confirmation is itself blocked by a significant Republican obstacle. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has publicly pledged to withhold his vote on the Warsh nomination until the DOJ probe into the Fed renovation concludes. Without Tillis, the administration may not have the votes to confirm Warsh before the chairmanship vacancy arises, potentially leaving the Fed without a confirmed chair for the first time in decades and creating a leadership vacuum at the institution responsible for setting U.S. interest rates.
Legal experts were quick to note that the president's authority to fire the Fed chair is deeply ambiguous. The Federal Reserve Act stipulates that Fed board members can only be removed "for cause," a standard that courts have historically interpreted narrowly. Multiple constitutional law scholars told reporters Wednesday that a termination motivated by policy disagreements — rather than documented misconduct — would almost certainly trigger immediate litigation. "There is no clean legal path here," said one prominent administrative law professor. "Any firing would face an injunction within hours." The markets, for now, appear to be betting on resolution rather than rupture: the S&P 500 hit a record high of 7,022.95 on Wednesday, suggesting investors see the confrontation as posturing ahead of a negotiated exit for Powell rather than a genuine threat to central bank independence.
Originally reported by CNBC.