Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is days from one of the most consequential decisions of his career: walk away from the central bank when his chairmanship ends May 15, or stay on as a governor through January 2028 and deny Donald Trump a working majority on the Fed board.
Friday’s Justice Department decision to drop its criminal probe into Powell removed the last condition he had set before deciding. By Sunday, holdout Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) had dropped his block on Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as the next chair.
Modern Fed chairs almost always walk when their chairmanships end. Powell told reporters in March he had “not made that decision yet” and would base it on “what I think is best for the institution and the people we serve.”
The Working Majority Math
If Powell leaves, Donald Trump fills a fourth seat on the seven-member board alongside his three other appointees: Michelle Bowman, Christopher Waller and Warsh.
That …
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