Jerome Powell says he will remain US Fed chief until successor confirmed

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday he’ll stick around as head of the U.S. central bank until his successor is confirmed, and will not leave the institution until a criminal investigation into the Fed is resolved.

“If my successor is not confirmed by the ‌end of my ⁠term ⁠as chair, I would serve as chair pro-tem” until that’s resolved, Powell said in a press conference following the end of the Fed’s latest two-day policy meeting. He said that is what “the law calls for” and “that’s what we’ve done on several occasions, including involving me, and that’s what we’re going to do in this situation.”

Powell’s term as head of the Fed ends in May. President Donald ⁠Trump has ‌nominated former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell, but Warsh has yet to be confirmed into that role by the ⁠Senate.

The timing of his potential confirmation is unclear, and the process is not likely to move forward until the conclusion of a criminal investigation into the central bank launched by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee, has said Warsh will not be confirmed until the probe is over. A U.S. judge last week quashed subpoenas tied to the investigation, which ‌seemedto open a path for the Senate’s formal consideration of the Warsh nomination.

A Department of Justice official, however, said the ruling will be appealed.
“I have no ⁠intention of leaving the Board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality,”Powell told reporters on Wednesday, referring to his seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors. Powell can remain a Fed governor until 2028 even after stepping down from the central bank’s top job. He told reporters on Wednesday that he would make that decision at the proper time. Fed chiefs usually leave the central bank when their leadership stints end.

Powell said on Wednesday a ‌rate ⁠hike ⁠is not the expected path of monetary policy.

Officials discussed the chance “our next ⁠move might ‌be an increase” but “the ⁠vast majority of participants don’t see that as their base case,” Powell said at ‌a press conference following their policy meeting. ⁠But he added, “we don’t take things off the table.”

Generative artificial intelligence tools will certainly contribute to productivity gains for years to come, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday but urged ‌caution ⁠on whether ⁠AI’s impact will be disinflationary.

Powell told a news conference after the Fed held rates steady that the current U.S. AI data center building boom currently was putting ⁠upward price ‌pressure on many goods and services and was “probably pushing ⁠inflation up at the margin.”

In the near term, “you’re not looking at something that would immediately call for lower rates, or that would be lowering inflation over time,” Powell said.

He added ‌that it was an “empirical question” on whether AI will expand supply faster than ⁠demand, but it will contribute to higher productivity over time.

“Higher productivity is the thing that allows incomes to rise over time, and so it’s a great thing,” Powell said.