Overview
- Powell, speaking Sunday in Boston as he accepted the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, said the Federal Reserve is undergoing a “stress test” and warned that removing officials for policy differences would cost the institution its credibility.
- He decided to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors after his May 15 term as chair ended, a move that prevents the president from immediately filling that seat while his governor term runs.
- Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Fed chair on May 22 and now leads policy decisions with Powell serving as a governor in a reduced public role.
- A Justice Department probe into cost overruns on a Fed building renovation was opened in January and reported dropped or referred in April, while the administration’s attempt to remove Governor Lisa Cook is pending before the Supreme Court.
- Powell stressed that legal protections—the requirement that governors be removed only for cause—exist to keep monetary policy free of short‑term political pressure and warned markets and families would suffer if those norms are broken.