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The Trump administration is toying with removing Jerome H. Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, accusing him of mismanaging a multibillion-dollar update to its Washington headquarters.
July 16, 2025Updated 7:03 p.m. ET
President Trump on Wednesday continued his assault on Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, saying it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire him “unless he has to leave for fraud.”
The warning shot related to Mr. Powell’s handling of a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, involving a pair of buildings that are around 100 years old and undergoing a roughly $2.5 billion revamp.
The president and his allies have seized on the project, which kicked off in 2021, as a potential avenue to fire Mr. Powell over allegations of mismanagement.
But firing a Fed chair is a legally knotty endeavor and one that has not been tested in modern U.S. history. That’s because, under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, the chair can be ousted only for “cause,” which is typically interpreted to mean malfeasance or gross misconduct.
Legal experts have quickly assessed that the case the president may be building to remove Mr. Powell for cause is flimsy and likely to face serious obstacles if Mr. Trump follows through with his threats.
“I don’t think there is a case here,” said Lev Menand, a legal scholar at Columbia University. “There has to be a showing of misconduct, and Powell would have a lot of avenues to challenge the administration if they proceed against him.”
