US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not resign from the board at the end of his tenure, maintaining that an ongoing Justice Department investigation needs to continue.
Trump acknowledged still wanting to oust Powell during an interview with Fox News, but said he has "to find out" if there was any "incompetence, corruption, or both" involved in the renovation of the central bank's Washington, DC headquarters.
"I think you have to find out," he said.
Reminded by the interviewer that Powell has maintained he will not leave office as long as the investigation remains ongoing, Trump said: "Well then, I'll have to fire him."
"I've held back (from) firing him. I have wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial," he said.
While Powell's term as Fed chair expires in May, he has two years remaining on his term as a central bank governor.
Powell announced in March that he has "no intention" of leaving the Fed Board of Governors until an investigation into him has been duly concluded.
"I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality," Powell told reporters in Washington.
Last year, federal prosecutors in Washington opened a criminal investigation into Powell concerning a renovation of the Fed's headquarters and possible misleading statements to Congress about the scope and cost of the project. Powell has denied the allegations and called the probe politically motivated.
Trump has long demanded that the Fed lower its benchmark interest rate, and has continually attacked Powell and other Fed officials for not heeding his demands.
Trump announced in January that he had picked Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, as his nominee for the next Fed chair.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he will oppose Warsh's nomination as long as the investigation remains ongoing, a move that will likely result in the nomination failing to clear the Senate Banking Committee on which Tillis sits.
"Kevin Warsh is a qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy. However, the Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent," Tillis wrote on X.
"Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable. My position has not changed: I will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee, including for the position of Chairman, until the DOJ's inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved," he added.
