Jerome Powell Receives 2026 JFK Profile in Courage Award for Defending Fed Independence

Jerome Powell received the 2026 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on May 31 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. The award recognized his efforts to preserve the Federal Reserve’s independence during his tenure as chair.

Powell stepped down as Fed chair in May 2026 and was succeeded by Kevin Warsh. He retained his seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors, which runs until January 2028. The decision left the Trump administration with one fewer vacancy to fill on the board.

In his remarks, Powell said the Fed has been undergoing a “stress test” like many other institutions. He said Congress wisely chose to insulate monetary policy decisions from political pressure and that all other advanced economy nations have done the same. “These protections have served the public well, and administrations from both parties have respected them,” Powell said.

He warned that if any administration removes Fed officials over policy differences, future administrations will do so as well. Powell said the public would lose faith that the central bank will make decisions based only on what’s best for all Americans.

He added that the Fed’s credibility would be lost in such a scenario and that this credibility enables the Fed to support a strong and stable economy for the benefit of American families and businesses.

“Our credibility has been built and sustained over many decades, and we have a duty to safeguard that priceless asset for our fellow citizens and for generations to come,” Powell said. He called the Fed’s independence a priceless asset that must be protected.

Powell said a single administration’s decision to remove bank officials over policy differences would open the way for future elected officials to follow suit.

He said this would undermine the credibility that the Fed has spent decades building. Powell indirectly acknowledged mistakes as chair, noting the Fed is legally required to seek stable prices but inflation surged amid the pandemic’s supply chain crunch. “At the Fed, we are, of course, human and thus imperfect,” he said.

Powell said partisan political differences are normal and essential in a thriving democracy but that Americans ought to be united in commitment to higher principles. Chief among those principles, he said, is respect for the rule of law. He said public institutions carry the country forward through change and embody commitment to freedom, democracy, and service of the public good.

Powell called universities, courts, Congress and the central bank the foundation and the embodiment of American democracy. He said the United States has long been the leader of the world’s freedom-seeking people and that its integrity must be maintained. Past recipients include former Presidents Barack Obama and George H.

W. Bush, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and former Vice President Mike Pence. The Trump administration has sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, who sued and the courts have so far let her keep her seat.