White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett says Jerome Powell should leave the Federal Reserve Board now, calling the former chair’s continued presence unprecedented and a drag on central-bank independence.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow on "Sunday Morning Futures" that Powell needs to step aside. Hassett framed the exit as the cleanest way to end visible partisan tension at the central bank and restore older norms.
Hassett also said the U.S. economy is stronger than ever under President Trump. He tied that claim to the need for a Fed free of leftover leadership fights.
Powell’s chairmanship has ended, yet he remains on the Federal Reserve Board. Hassett called that arrangement out of step with how the institution used to operate and with ordinary corporate practice.
Hassett put the case in plain terms during the interview.
"I think that it's time for him to move on and to respect the independence of the Fed. End this sort of partisan divide that's very visible at the Fed, and let's move on to the way the Fed used to be in the past."
He pressed the point with a workplace analogy that any business owner would recognize.
"It's completely unprecedented that somebody would have their chairmanship end and not resign right away. It's kind of like when there's a corporation that gets a new CEO. The old CEO doesn't sit in the office next to him, right?"
Hassett added that the surest path to real independence is for Powell to trust the people the administration has already placed at the Fed.
"I think the best way for him to preserve the independence of the Fed is to trust the people that we put there who really, really believe in the independence of the Fed."
That message lands against a longer stretch of public friction. Trump has criticized the Fed’s benchmark interest-rate decisions for months and has pressed for faster action on rates. The disagreement started over monetary policy and widened from there.
Readers tracking parallel personnel fights will recall the White House effort aimed at Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The same administration focus on accountability at the central bank runs through both episodes.
Powell faced a Justice Department look at cost overruns on multibillion-dollar renovation work at the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. No charges were brought. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche later confirmed the department would not reopen a criminal investigation.
Fox Business sought comment from Powell and did not immediately receive a reply. Powell held a news conference in Washington on June 18, 2025, as the broader debate continued.
Related coverage has also noted Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Fed chair. Hassett’s argument is that once a new chair is in place, the prior chair should not remain in the next office.
On the same programming block, former Reagan economist Art Laffer and American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin discussed Powell’s leadership record, inflation trends, and the wider economy. Hassett’s own remarks stayed fixed on the independence question and the unusual length of Powell’s board tenure.
Trump has kept a high public tempo on growth and jobs, including recent stops where he hailed Ohio’s economic gains and urged voters to lock in the results. Hassett’s “stronger than ever” line fits that same emphasis on results over institutional inertia.
Political headwinds still exist. Separate polling has shown pressure on approval numbers tied to prices and foreign policy. That backdrop makes a clear, independent Fed more, not less, important to households watching rates and costs.
Other signature projects have already wound down on schedule, including the moment DOGE closed its doors while fraud enforcement continued. The pattern is straightforward: finish the work, hand off cleanly, and keep institutions focused on their core job.
Powell’s continued board seat is the opposite of a clean handoff. Hassett is saying the former chair should follow the older custom, end the visible split, and let the new team run the place without the previous boss still in the room.
Taxpayers and savers do not need a prolonged personnel drama at the nation’s central bank. They need rate decisions made on the merits, not on leftover grudges or unusual tenures that no private company would tolerate.