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2026-04-17 08:57:47
[The battle for the Fed's leadership: Trump threatens to fire Powell, legal gray area sparks confrontation] (1) The Trump administration threatened that Powell should not continue to serve as chairman if a successor is not confirmed by May 15; Treasury Secretary Bessant suggested that Vice Chairman Jefferson or Governor Waller could serve as interim chairman, and Trump even said that if Powell did not step down, "I would have to fire him." Powell preemptively announced that if no successor was confirmed, he would continue to serve as "interim chairman," saying that "it is required by law." (2) Since 1935, there have been five instances where the chairman's term has expired and no successor has been confirmed, and each time the current chairman has continued to serve without the president's objection. In 1978, Carter's lawyers believed that the president could appoint an acting chairman, but the Fed and senators strongly opposed it, warning that this would render the four-year term set by Congress meaningless. In 1983, Reagan's lawyer Roberts (now Chief Justice) partially agreed with Carter's position, but limited it to short-term appointments only in emergency situations. (3) The legal environment thereafter is even more unfavorable to the executive branch: a law enacted in 1979 requires the chairperson to be confirmed solely by the Senate; the Federal Jobs Vacancy Reform Act of 1998 explicitly excludes multi-member independent committees; and three federal court cases last year ruled that the president likely does not have the power to appoint acting officials without Senate confirmation. If the White House pushes forward, Powell could continue to serve as a governor until 2028, and the Federal Reserve's interest rate setting committee would elect its own chairperson annually, making it difficult for Trump to easily control the situation.
