By Matt Grossman

President Trump slammed Jerome Powell's decision to stay on at the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month. "Jerome 'Too Late' Powell wants to stay at the Fed because he can't get a job anywhere else - Nobody wants him," Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday evening.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also criticized Powell's move, calling the choice a encroachment on Fed tradition.

Powell's tenure as one of seven Fed governors runs for two more years, but every chair for the past 75 years has left the central bank at the end of his or her leadership term. Powell said in a press conference Wednesday that he intended to remain at the Fed, citing legal attacks from the Trump administration that Powell said threatened the central bank's independence.

Bessent said in a Fox Business interview Wednesday that it was Powell, not the White House, who was breaking with established practice. "For someone who says he's an institutionalist and cares about norms at the Fed, this is a violation of all Federal Reserve norms," Bessent said.

The Treasury secretary added that Powell's decision amounts to an insult directed at other Trump-appointed Fed governors, who Bessent said would be effective stewards of the Fed's independence were Powell to step down.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2026 18:16 ET (22:16 GMT)

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