Stay or Go: Fed Chair Jerome Powell Confronts His Final Big Decision

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Federal Reserve succession drama now comes down to a decision only Jerome Powell can make.The Justice Department said on Friday it would halt its criminal investigation of the Fed chair. Initial ambiguity about whether the probe was truly over kept the path uncertain through the weekend.

But Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), the Republican holdout whose vote threatened to stall the nomination of Powell’s successor, Kevin Warsh, said Sunday that he had received assurances from the Justice Department that the probe was effectively finished.

In backing Warsh’s vote, Tillis cleared a path for the Senate to confirm him before Powell’s term as chair expires May 15.What’s left unresolved is whether Powell will give up his seat on the Fed’s board when his chairmanship ends or stay on as a governor, a position he can hold until January 2028. Fed chairs have almost always left the board when their chairmanship ends.Powell laid out his own test for that decision at a March news conference when he said that, at a minimum, the criminal probe needed to be “well and truly over, with transparency and finality.” Whether that threshold has now been met is unclear.A pending Justice Department appeal of a federal judge’s March ruling against the probe’s subpoenas would be limited to preserving subpoena power, not reviving the Fed investigation, Tillis said.

Still, he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Powell might want to see that appeal through before deciding.“It could be a lengthy process,” he said. “Hopefully not.”If Powell leaves the board, President Trump gets a second vacancy to fill beyond the seat being used to install Warsh.