BlockBeats News, March 16th, according to Reuters, decrypted documents released last Friday showed that Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve, his lawyer raised a possibility during a January meeting with the Justice Department: that Powell, after the end of his chairmanship term in May, might continue to serve as a Fed governor — a precedent-breaking decision.
These documents are part of a case in which the Fed sought to block the Justice Department’s criminal investigation subpoena regarding Powell’s handling of the central bank’s Washington headquarters renovation. Last Friday, a district court judge ruled in favor of the Fed, blocking these subpoenas. In arguments against the Fed’s motion, a Justice Department lawyer stated that at a meeting on January 29th, Powell’s lawyer told U.S. District Attorney Jeannine Pirro: “The Chair (Powell) believed that if he were still under investigation, he would not leave the Board even if his term expired; and though he could not state this in reverse, the Chair’s image would be different if he were no longer under investigation, and he would be able to make family-focused decisions freely.”
According to the documents, Powell’s lawyer also stated that in the current situation, the U.S. President who has been pressuring Powell to cut interest rates, Donald Trump, “does not have enough votes in the Senate to confirm a new Fed chair.”
Powell’s term as governor will continue until January 2028, spanning the upcoming November midterm elections and covering the final year of the Trump administration.
