Powell 4 Eva? Fed Declares Powell Temporary Chair—Even Though Warsh Has Been Confirmed!John Carney 15 May 2026
Jerome Powell is not quite done running the Federal Reserve yet.
The Federal Reserve Board voted on Friday to designate Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new chair. The move was announced in a terse press release: “This temporary action to name the incumbent as chair pro tempore is consistent with past practice during similar transitions between chairs.”
The press release did not explain what statutory authority the Board was relying on. Nor did it address the fact that the claim of consistency with precedent is, in critical respects, unsupported by the historical record.
The Federal Reserve Act does not provide an express mechanism for filling a chair vacancy. Instead, it provides that if the chair is “absent,” the vice chair may preside over Board meetings. If both the chair and vice chair are absent, “the Board may elect one of its members to serve as chair pro tempore.”
The Board’s Friday action does not fit this language. Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is not absent. He voted for the appointment. The statute contemplates temporary absence from a meeting, not a vacancy in the chair position itself caused by the expiration of a term.
The Board has not publicly explained what statutory authority it was relying on. No statement from the Federal Reserve’s general counsel or from Board leadership has articulated a legal basis for the action. Over the past few months, Powell has frequently claimed, without evidence, that he would remain chairman even after his term expired if a successor was not confirmed.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/05/15/powell-4-eva-fed-declares-powell-temporary-chair-even-though-warsh-has-been-confirmed/
