Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell arrives for a consolidated review of the large bank meeting of large banks at the Federal Reserve system held in Washington, DC on July 22, 2025.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent on Tuesday insisted that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell doesn’t need to resign, but he also reiterated his desire to review central bank operations.
A day after calling CNBC to investigate the Fed’s “all” operations, Bessent said it’s not that central bank leaders should not resign. Conversely, President Donald Trump says he hopes Powell will quit and is pondering his efforts to take him away.
“I know Chair Powell. There’s nothing he says he should resign right now. He was a good civil servant,” Bescent told Fox Business. “His term ends in May. If he wants to see it, I think he should. If he wants to leave early, I think he should.”
Despite a barrage of criticism from the Trump administration, there was no indication from Powell that he was planning to resign.
More recently, White House officials have focused on the Fed’s $2.5 billion building renovation project, including a significant cost overrun.
Bessent said his desire for reviewing Fed operations should come internally in a “jewel box” that is “a side” and away from political influence.
“Everything else the Fed has done over the years has grown, grown, grown, and grown, and this is what happens when there is no surveillance,” he said.
For Powell, leading the internal review is “a real opportunity for his legacy that he will make the Fed’s non-financial policy function right-sized,” Bescent added.
Trump has called for the Fed to dramatically dramatically improve low interest rates, but the Federal Open Market Committee on Rate Setting at next week’s policy meeting is expected to be held back again. Powell and most of his colleagues have shown they want to see the impact Trump tariffs are having on inflation before taking further action.
In a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Gov. Michelle Bowman suggested that he likes in cuts at this month’s meeting, supported the concept of Fed independence, but also highlighted the need for accountability.
“It’s very important and I’ve said this many times in the past. We maintain our independence on monetary policy,” she said in an interview with “Scokebox.” “But we also have a duty to be transparent and accountable as part of its independence.”
The market overwhelmingly hopes that the Fed will keep its short-term borrowing rate at 4.25%-4.5%, but is leaning towards the possibility of a September cut, according to data from CME Group Futures.
