Jerome Powell Ends Term as Federal Reserve Chair on May 15

Jerome Powell's term as chair of the United States Federal Reserve Board of Governors ends on May 15. He will be succeeded by Kevin Warsh, who served on the central bank's board of governors from 2006 to 2011. Powell will continue serving as a governor after stepping down as chair.

Powell was first appointed Fed chair by President Trump in 2018. He said he planned to stay on to help preserve the central bank's independence. The announcement followed a statement by President Trump that he would fire Powell if he remained at the Fed beyond the end of his term as chair.

Powell's tenure as chair during President Trump's second term included political pressure from the White House for more aggressive interest rate cuts than the Fed implemented. The Fed began cutting interest rates in September. Powell stressed the central bank's independence and deflected criticism from the president.

The Trump administration launched an investigation into Powell related to renovations at the Federal Reserve's Washington headquarters. Government prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing. The investigation delayed the latest appointment. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would not vote for any nominee to the central bank until the Department of Justice dropped its investigation into Powell.

The investigation was later suspended. The Senate Banking Committee then voted to advance Warsh's nomination.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve under Powell worked with the Treasury Department to issue direct payments to individuals as part of the CARES Act. The central bank also helped launch lending programs including the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses.

It purchased U.S. government and mortgage-backed securities and cut short-term interest rates to a range of zero to 0.25 percent. Inflation later rose to a 40-year high. The Fed raised interest rates to 5.5 percent by July 2023. Powell had previously served as one of the Fed's seven governors after being appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012.

He advocated reforms to "too big to fail" policies involving taxpayer-funded bailouts of large firms. In his final news conference, Powell addressed political pressure on the institution. "I worry these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors," Powell told reporters.

Kevin Warsh is set to take over as chair.