§53 —
On termination
Democrat
TACO
The fold has a second act, which is why this one earns the word twice. On January 12, 2026, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the Fed chair over the cost of the central bank's headquarters renovation 1. On April 24 the department dropped it 2. On May 15 his term as chair ended on the date the statute set, and the Federal Reserve named him chair pro tempore for the handover 3. On May 22 Kevin Warsh was sworn in, with a term to May 21, 2030 4.
The ledger in one line: termination could not come fast enough, and it never came. The investigation was dropped in fourteen weeks. The man served every day of his term and left on a Friday with his name on the press release. Whoever holds the chair now holds it until 2030, into the term of whoever is president after the one after this one. The building got renovated.
Sources
- The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Powell over the headquarters renovation — Axios, 12 January 2026 ↑
- The Justice Department dropped the Powell investigation — CNBC, 24 April 2026 ↑
- Powell designated chair pro tempore at the end of his term as chair — Federal Reserve press release, 15 May 2026 ↑
- Kevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair, term to 21 May 2030 — CNN, 22 May 2026 ↑
Republican
TERMINATION
The case was made on the president's own platform on April 17, 2025, and it is an economic argument, not just a mood: the Fed chair was "always TOO LATE AND WRONG"; "Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS"; therefore "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!" 1. On April 21 he called the chair a "major loser." The Dow fell 971.82 points that day, 2.48 percent, and the dollar touched a three-year low 23.
I will stipulate the frustration. A president who has cut a deal on rates has cut a deal on everything, and a chair who will not move is a wall. The word for the wall was termination. Five days later the same speaker had "no intention" of firing the chair, "none whatsoever" 4. That is the fold, recorded on the right side of the page so nobody can say we hid it.
Sources
- "Always TOO LATE AND WRONG"; "Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS"; "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!" — CNBC, 17 April 2025 ↑
- Dow down 971.82 points, 2.48 percent; S&P down 2.36 percent, after Trump called Powell a "major loser" — CNBC, 21 April 2025 ↑
- The dollar at a three-year low as the attacks on the Fed chair escalated — CNN, 21 April 2025 ↑
- "I have no intention of firing him," "none whatsoever" — CNBC, 22 April 2025 ↑
“You do this every day and I do it once, so bear with me. April 17: termination cannot come fast enough. April 21: the Dow drops 971 points, the dollar hits a three-year low. April 22: no intention, none whatsoever. January: the Justice Department opens a file on him about a renovation. April: the file closes. May 15: his term as chair ends on schedule. Sorry, I've got my coat on — which one of those dates is the termination?”— Lou
“"Termination cannot come fast enough." Five days later: no intention of firing him, none whatsoever. Then a criminal investigation into the guy over the cost of a building renovation, dropped three months later, and the man walks out the front door on the last day of his term with a plaque. The only thing that got terminated was the sentence.”
“The president never wanted him fired, he wanted him motivated, and a Justice Department inquiry is one of the most motivating things a central banker can receive — dropped, of course, once the motivation had been delivered.”