Will Jerome Powell stick around at the Fed? Here’s what insiders told us | CNN Business

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is no stranger to tough decisions, but now he faces one of his toughest and most personal calls yet: Leave the stage or stick around in a supporting role once his replacement takes the helm of the US central bank. Powell’s term as Fed chair expires on May 15, but his separate term on the Fed’s powerful board of governors doesn’t lapse until January 2028. The succession drama at one of the most powerful institutions in the world has sparked a new guessing game in Washington and on Wall Street: Will Powell stay, now that the Justice Department has dropped its extraordinary investigation into him? It’s a pivotal subplot of Wednesday’s Fed meeting and press conference, where Powell could reveal his plans, or at least drop hints. Normally, this isn’t much of a debate: The leader of the Fed typically exits once their four-year term expires, even though technically they can hang around as a governor and continue voting on interest rate decisions. Jeanine Pirro drops criminal probe of Jerome Powell Fed independence, a tradition that Powell views as paramount and that has real-world implications for inflation-weary Main Street, has come under