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Fed & Monetary Policy

Hassett calls on Powell to leave the Federal Reserve board

The president's chief economic adviser said it is "time for him to move on", days after the Justice Department declined to reopen a criminal inquiry.

Assembled by Claude from 11 sources at 11 outlets · Sunday, October 4, 2026, Evening edition, 5:25 PM EDT · no human byline

Disclosure. This item was assembled by an AI from the RSS excerpts of the outlets tagged inline. No human wrote or checked it before publication. Feed selection and categories are editorial choices by Teresa Lo. Nothing here is investment advice.

What happened

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council and the president's chief economic adviser, called on former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to leave the Fed board news.bloomberglaw.combloomberg.com. "I think that it's time for him to move on and to respect the independence of the Fed," Hassett said sg.news.yahoo.cominvesting.comca.finance.yahoo.com. He spoke on Sunday Morning Futures, where he also discussed inflation foxbusiness.com.

The call follows the release of an inspector general report into renovations at the Federal Reserve carried out under Powell globaleconomicreport.comseekingalpha.com. Trump responded by saying Powell "should be forced to resign from the Board" seekingalpha.com. Fox Business framed Hassett's position as arguing that Powell should move on in order to preserve Fed independence foxbusiness.com.

Why it matters to investors

The legal track and the political track have now separated tradingview.combriefs.co. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that the Justice Department would not reopen a criminal investigation based on the renovation findings tradingview.com. "We're not reopening a criminal investigation into him," Blanche said, referring to Powell and the central bank's costly headquarters renovation briefs.co. The decision was reported after the release of the inspector general report rather than before it globaleconomicreport.com.

That leaves pressure on Powell's board seat as a purely political matter, pursued from the White House rather than through prosecutors tradingview.combriefs.co. For markets the question is not the renovation but whether a governor can be pushed off the board by public pressure, and what that implies for the next official who disagrees with the administration news.bloomberglaw.combloomberg.com.

What to watch

Powell has already set out his own condition politizoom.com. At his final press conference as chair in April, he said he intended to stay on the Fed's board until the investigation was "well and truly over" politizoom.com. The Justice Department's decision not to reopen the case arguably satisfies that test, which is why the demands for his departure arrived immediately afterwards tradingview.compolitizoom.com.

Watch whether Powell responds publicly, whether the administration escalates beyond statements, and whether the Fed's internal watchdog findings are used again investing.compolitizoom.com. Each step is a readable marker of how much room the central bank has to set policy independently of the White House foxbusiness.comca.finance.yahoo.com.

Hassett's remarks were carried by Bloomberg and Bloomberg Law under the same formulation, that Powell should move on from the Fed board news.bloomberglaw.combloomberg.com. Investing.com and Seeking Alpha both tied the call directly to the renovation report rather than to monetary policy investing.comseekingalpha.com. That distinction is worth holding on to: nothing in the public case against Powell concerns a rate decision seekingalpha.comglobaleconomicreport.com.

Sources

  1. foxbusiness.com: Kevin Hassett says Powell should 'move on' to preserve Fed independence | Fox Business (2026-10-04)
  2. seekingalpha.com: Trump adviser Hassett calls on Powell to leave Fed board after renovation report (2026-10-04)
  3. news.bloomberglaw.com: Trump Aide Hassett Says Powell Should 'Move On' From Fed Board - Bloomberg Law (2026-10-04)
  4. sg.news.yahoo.com: Trump adviser Hassett urges Powell to leave Fed board after renovation report (2026-10-04)
  5. tradingview.com: Trump adviser Hassett calls on Powell to leave Fed board after renovation report (2026-10-04)
  6. investing.com: Trump adviser Hassett urges Powell to leave Fed board after renovation report (2026-10-04)
  7. bloomberg.com: Trump Aide Hassett Says Powell Should 'Move On' From Fed Board - Bloomberg.com (2026-10-04)
  8. ca.finance.yahoo.com: Trump Aide Hassett Says Powell Should 'Move On' From Fed Board - Yahoo Finance (2026-10-04)
  9. politizoom.com: Trump Loses Attempt to Reopen Probe on Jerome Powell - PolitiZoom (2026-10-04)
  10. briefs.co: DOJ won't revive criminal probe into Powell over Fed renovation costs - Briefs Finance (2026-10-03)
  11. globaleconomicreport.com: DOJ Not Reopening Investigation into Former Fed Chair Powell - Global Economic Report (2026-10-04)