Fed Chair Jerome Powell says he won’t leave bank until DOJ probe is over

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday he would not step down as leader of the central bank until his successor is confirmed and would not leave the bank’s board of governors until the Trump administration concludes its criminal investigation.

During a Wednesday press conference, Powell confirmed that he would stay on the Fed board as chair pro tempore until the Senate confirms President Trump’s nominee to replace him, following the precedent by several past Fed chiefs. Powell also served a brief stint as acting Fed chair under former President Biden, who renominated him for another four-year term leading the central bank in 2021.

Powell also said he would remain a member of the Fed board of governors until the Justice Department ends its criminal probe of his handling of renovations to the central bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., along with his June 2025 testimony about the matter before the Senate Banking Committee.

“I have no intention of leaving the Board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality,” Powell said Wednesday, shortly after the Fed kept rates steady.

Powell’s term as Fed........

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