Powell says he’s staying on the Fed’s board, impacting Trump and successor Kevin Warsh

It’s the first time since 1948 that a Fed chair will remain on the board as a governor.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference at the Federal Reserve following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. [Photo: Cliff Owen/AP Photo]

Jerome Powell said Wednesday he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month “for a period of time, to be determined,” saying the “unprecedented” legal attacks by the Trump administration have put the independence of the nation’s central bank at risk.“I worry these attacks are battering this institution and putting at risk the things that really matter to the public,” Powell said in remarks at a press conference after the Fed announced its decision to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.Powell’s decision to stay — the first time a Fed chair will remain on the board as a governor since 1948 — denies President Donald Trump a chance to fill a seat on the central bank’s seven-member governing board with his own appointee. The Senate Banking Committee earlier approved Powell’s successor as chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh, on a party-line vote. Powell will continue as a Fed governor, possibly until January 2028. Warsh, if confirmed, will take a seat currently held by Stephen Miran, a previous Trump appointee, whose term ended in January.Powell’s move could make it a bit harder for Warsh to engineer the rate cuts that Trump has demanded, and Warsh advocated for last year, economists say.“It probably means it will take Warsh a little bit longer to build the consensus he is trying to build,” said David Seif, chief economist for developed markets at Nomura, an investment bank.U.S. Attorney for........

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