Former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will remain on the Fed board until his term expires in January 2028, despite sharp criticism from White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. Hassett called Powell’s continued presence "extremely unorthodox" and said it obstructs the administration's ability to appoint new members [1, 2, 3, 4].

Hassett also accused the current Fed board majority of voting not out of patriotism but with political motivation against President Trump. "There’s a majority of people over at the Fed that are not necessarily going to be voting because they’re patriotic, but rather because they want to get Trump," he said [1, 2].

President Trump and his allies are actively seeking to remove Fed members, including Powell and Governor Lisa Cook. Trump vowed to "start the process and do every step perfectly to get Lisa Cook out," signaling a push to create vacancies for Trump-aligned appointees [5, 3].

The US Supreme Court recently rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to remove Cook, allowing her to remain on the board amid ongoing legal proceedings [5, 3].

Trump also commented on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, calling him "a great guy" but acknowledging Warsh faces a "somewhat hostile Fed board" that may try to "do the wrong thing." Trump’s tone toward Warsh was notably softer than his criticism of Powell [3, 4].

Powell has cited concerns about political motivations in investigations into a Fed building project as a reason for his undecided timing on leaving the board. "I’ll leave the Fed board when I think it’s appropriate to do so," he said [1, 2, 3, 4].

The Federal Reserve currently has only one member appointed during Trump’s second term, Chairman Warsh. Trump’s team views the Atlanta Fed presidency, which will gain voting rights in 2027, as a key post to influence policy, and Treasury Secretary is working to identify candidates [1, 5].

June 2026 nonfarm payrolls grew by just 57,000 jobs, far below expectations, reducing the chance of a Fed rate hike in July to below 20%, according to reports [2, 3, 4].

On July 2, Hassett publicly criticized Powell’s continued Fed role on television. On the same day, Trump reiterated efforts to remove Cook and warned about opposition Warsh faces on the board [1, 5, 3, 4].