Powell Defends Fed Independence in First Remarks Since Being Replaced by Trump

Jerome Powell stated that the Federal Reserve would lose its credibility if any administration removes Fed officials over policy differences. Powell delivered the remarks on Sunday while accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston.

He said that if any administration finds a way to remove Fed officials over policy differences, then future administrations will do so as well. In such a scenario, the public would lose faith that the Fed would make decisions based on what’s best for all Americans, he added. “The Fed’s credibility would be lost,” Powell said.

Sunday’s remarks were Powell’s first public comments since he was succeeded as head of the central bank by Kevin Warsh earlier this month. Powell remains on the Fed’s Board of Governors, with his term as a governor set to expire in January 2028. Powell highlighted the “straightforward” legal protections for the Fed designed to insulate monetary policy from political interference.

U.S. Supreme Court is deliberating the fate of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, whom President Donald Trump has sought to fire over unproven mortgage fraud allegations. The question of whether she can remain at the central bank while lower courts hear the case is currently before the Supreme Court.

Powell exited the top job at the Fed earlier this month. The JFK Library Foundation selected him as a co-recipient of the Profile in Courage Award for his defense of the Fed’s independence despite years of personal attacks and threats from the highest levels of government. The foundation also honored the people of Minneapolis and St.

Paul, Minnesota, for risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members from an unprecedented federal law enforcement operation. W. Bush and Gerald Ford, and former Vice President Mike Pence.