Jerome Powell has announced that even after his term as chair of the Federal Reserve ends in May of this year, he will continue to serve on the body until his term as a member expires in January 2028 around the same time as Trump leaves office. While the terms of office on the board and being the chair are not the same, usually the chair leaves the board as well when they stop being the chair.

Powell was very clear that his decision to stay on was prompted by Trump’s attacks on the board.

Jerome Powell said Wednesday he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month “for a period of time, to be determined,” saying the “unprecedented” legal attacks by the Trump administration have put the independence of the nation’s central bank at risk.

“I worry these attacks are battering this institution and putting at risk the things that really matter to the public,” Powell said in remarks at a press conference after the Fed announced its decision to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

Powell’s decision to stay — the first time a Fed chair will remain on the board as a governor since 1948 — denies President Donald Trump a chance to fill a seat on the central bank’s seven-member governing board with his own appointee. The Senate Banking Committee earlier approved Powell’s successor as chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh, on a party-line vote. Powell will continue as a Fed governor, possibly until January 2028. Warsh, if confirmed, will take a seat currently held by Stephen Miran, a previous Trump appointee, whose term ended in January.

This is an obvious own goal by Trump. If he had just shut his mouth, Powell would likely have also left the board in May allowing Trump to appoint another lackey to that spot. But his constant attacks on Powell, and even having his stooge, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, launch an investigation of him over a made-up reason, has resulted in Powell deciding to stay on and be a thorn in his side. Pirro dropped the investigation after Republican senator Thom Tillis said that he would oppose Warsh’s nomination as long as that prosecution continued.

Powell said Wednesday he had been assured by the Justice Department that the appeal wouldn’t result in a reopening of the probe unless a separate investigation by the Fed’s inspector general finds evidence of criminal activity.

Apparently, that didn’t bring Powell the closure he felt is needed.

“I’m waiting for the investigation to be well and truly over with finality and transparency,” he said. “I’m waiting for that and I will leave when I think it appropriate to do so.”

For someone who constantly boasts about his deal-making abilities, Trump seems to be really rotten at it. Any savvy negotiator would try to gauge the adversary and suitably tailor the argument. But Trump’s only tools seem to be threats and bullying.That style may work with those who fear him or depend on him for patronage but not with others. That has not worked with Iran where he is bungling the negotiations big time, nor with the EU over Greenland, and now not with Powell because Trump has really no power over Powell. In fact, he continues to attack Powell, further antagonizing him.

Trump responded to Powell’s decision late Wednesday on his social media website: “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell wants to stay at the Fed because he can’t get a job anywhere else — Nobody wants him,” Trump posted, using his nickname for the Fed chair.

Warsh has promised “regime change” at the central bank and may make sweeping changes to its economic models, communications strategies, and balance sheet. He has argued in favor of rate cuts, as Trump has demanded, but he will likely find it harder to implement them with inflation topping 3%, above the Fed’s target of 2%.

When asked if he believed Warsh would stand up to political pressure from Trump, Powell answered, “He testified very strongly at his hearing, and I take him at his word.”

Powell does not strike me as a petty man like Trump, and thus I do not think he will argue for Fed policies that contradict Trump’s wishes just to spite him.

Trump may well try to fire Powell like he did with another member of the Fed, economist Lisa Cook. Notably she was the first Black woman on the fed board. Cook promptly brought a lawsuit challenging his authority to do so and a federal appeals court blocked his move. Trump appealed to the US Supreme Court that heard oral arguments in January of this year but as yet has not handed down its ruling. If they rule against him in the Cook case, that should end the matter. But Trump may try to find another reason to fire Powell, because he thinks nothing of wasting government resources to pursue his personal vendettas.