2026年4月15日 / 美国东部时间下午2:51 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
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美国总统特朗普最新威胁要解雇美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔，这可能在后者的央行行长任期于5月15日结束时，将两人推向冲突轨道。
在周三接受福克斯商业频道主持人玛丽亚·巴尔蒂罗莫采访时，特朗普表示，如果这位政策制定者信守承诺，在美国司法部持续对美联储正在进行的建筑翻新项目进行刑事调查期间继续担任美联储理事，他将解雇鲍威尔。鲍威尔曾表示，这项调查旨在向他施压，迫使他支持降息或辞职。
“那我就必须解雇他，好吧，如果他不按时离任，我一直忍住没解雇他，”特朗普对巴尔蒂罗莫说。“我一直想解雇他。但我不想引发争议。”
特朗普的此番言论此前已有多轮威胁要罢免鲍威尔的先例，这位总统此前就对美联储降息步伐表示不满，称降息速度过慢。
但东北大学法律与公共政策辅修项目主任丹·厄尔曼对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示，罢免鲍威尔在法律上站不住脚。
“根据现行法律，特朗普总统在任何时候都无权解雇鲍威尔——无论是作为主席还是理事——除非解雇是‘出于正当理由’，”他说。“1913年《联邦储备法》规定，联邦储备理事会成员只能因严重不当行为被解雇。”
他补充道：“鲍威尔从未有过此类行为。”
美联储理事任期为14年，而美联储主席任期为4年。因此，这位美国央行行长在卸任主席职位后，仍可继续留在美联储理事会。就鲍威尔而言，他的主席任期于5月15日结束，而他作为美联储理事的任期将持续到2028年1月。
沃什的提名确认遭遇拖延
白宫近期试图罢免鲍威尔的另一个潜在障碍是，提名前美联储官员凯文·沃什担任新美联储主席的进程进展缓慢。北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·提利斯表示，在司法部撤销对美联储翻新项目的调查之前，他不会投票确认任何美联储提名人选。
“特朗普今天表示，如果鲍威尔在任期结束时不离职，他打算解雇他，这将引发另一场法律纠纷，只会强化鲍威尔留在美联储的决心，”SGH Macro首席经济学家蒂姆·杜伊在一份研究报告中写道。“越来越明显的是，特朗普对鲍威尔的敌意，阻断了能够顺利过渡到沃什的退路。”
今年3月被问及沃什提名确认延迟一事时，鲍威尔表示，在继任者上任之前，他将担任美联储临时主席。
尽管特朗普可以在5月15日任命美联储理事斯蒂芬·米兰担任代理美联储主席，但道明证券分析师贾雷特·塞伯格在给投资者的报告中称，这一举措很可能会面临法律挑战。
“杰罗姆·鲍威尔曾表示，他将担任‘临时主席’直到继任者获得确认。因此鲍威尔可能会提起诉讼，表明他而非米兰才是主席。局面会相当混乱，”厄尔曼说。
当被问及对特朗普的言论作出回应时，白宫援引了财政部长斯科特·贝森特在周三新闻发布会上的讲话。
“我非常乐观凯文·沃什将按时担任美联储主席，届时这个问题将不复存在，”贝森特说。
哥伦比亚商学院教授布雷特·豪斯表示，如果特朗普兑现解雇鲍威尔的威胁，投资者可能会做出负面反应，他指出，金融市场重视美联储不受政治压力影响地制定货币政策的能力。
“毫无疑问，如果特朗普总统试图解雇杰罗姆·鲍威尔，市场将会下跌，”豪斯说。
6月的关键判例？
美国最高法院目前正在审理两起案件，涉及美国总统是否有权罢免独立联邦机构的负责人，其中一起案件涉及美联储理事丽莎·库克。特朗普曾于8月份试图以抵押贷款欺诈指控为由解雇库克，但库克对此予以否认。库克尚未受到刑事指控。
特朗普在通过社交媒体分享的一封信中告知库克被解雇时写道，他有“充分理由”这么做，理由是他所称的“在金融事务中存在欺骗性且可能构成犯罪的行为”。
厄尔曼表示，库克案“切中要害，直接询问总统能否解雇美联储理事会成员”，他补充称，最高法院预计将在6月底——也就是鲍威尔的主席任期结束后——作出裁决。“到今年夏天我们就能明确法律立场，但在此之前任何试图解雇鲍威尔的行为都显然是非法的。”
由阿兰·谢特编辑
Why Jerome Powell — not Trump — will decide when the Federal Reserve chief exits the scene
April 15, 2026 / 2:51 PM EDT / CBS News
By
President Trump’s latest threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell could put them on a collision course when the latter’s term as head of the central bank ends on May 15.
In an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he would dismiss Powell if the policymaker stuck to his pledge of staying on as a Fed governor as long as the Department of Justice continues a criminal probe into ongoing building renovations at the Fed. Powell has said the investigation is intended to pressure him into supporting lower interest rates or resigning.
“Then I’ll have to fire him, OK, if he’s not leaving on time, I’ve held back firing him,” Mr. Trump told Bartiromo. I’ve wanted to fire him. But I hate to be controversial.”
Mr. Trump’s comment follows a string of previous threats he’s made about removing Powell, with the president citing dissatisfaction with the Fed’s pace of interest rate cuts, which he has characterized as too slow.
But ousting Powell would be legally dubious, Dan Urman, director of the law and public policy minor at Northeastern University, told CBS News.
“As the law currently stands, it is not legal for President Trump to fire Powell at any point — as chair or as governor — unless the firing is ‘for cause,’” he said. “The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 says the Federal Board of Governors can only be fired for serious misconduct.”
He added, “Powell has done no such thing.”
Fed governors serve 14-year terms, compared with four years for the Fed chair. As a result, the head of the nation’s central bank can remain on the Fed’s board even after exiting as chair. In Powell’s case, his term as chair ends May 15, while his term as a Fed governor runs through January 2028.
Warsh’s delayed confirmation
Another potential obstacle to the White House moving to dump Powell in the near term is the slow-moving effort to confirm former Fed official Kevin Warsh as the new Fed chair. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has said he won’t vote to confirm any Fed nominees until the Justice Department’s investigation into the Fed renovations is dropped.
“Trump today said he intended to fire Powell if he does not leave when his term expires, which would open another legal battle that would only intensify Powell’s resolve to remain at the Fed,” said Tim Duy, chief economist at SGH Macro, in a research note. “It increasingly appears that Trump’s animosity toward Powell prevents an offramp that would allow a smooth transition to Warsh.”
Asked in March about the delay in confirming Warsh, Powell said he would serve as pro tem chair of the Fed until a successor can step into the role.
Although Mr. Trump could name Fed governor Stephen Miran as acting Fed chair on May 15, that move would likely face a legal challenge, TD Securities analyst Jaret Seiberg said in a note to investors.
“Jerome Powell has said that he would serve as ‘chair pro tem’ until his successor is confirmed. So Powell could sue, suggesting that he, not Miran, is chair. It’s quite messy,” Urman said.
Reached for a response about Mr. Trump’s remarks, the White House pointed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments at a Wednesday press conference.
“I am very optimistic that Kevin Warsh will be the chair of the Fed on time, and that will be a moot question,” Bessent said.
If Mr. Trump follows through on his threats to fire Powell, investors would likely react negatively, said Columbia Business School professor Brett House, noting that financial markets value the Fed’s ability to steer monetary policy independent of political pressure.
“There’s little question that markets will sell off if President Trump attempts to fire Jerome Powell,” House said.
A crucial precedent in June?
The Supreme Court is currently weighing two cases about whether a U.S. president has the legal authority to remove leaders of independent federal agencies, with one involving Fed governor Lisa Cook. Mr. Trump tried to fire Cook in August over allegations she had engaged in mortgage fraud, which she denied. Cook hasn’t been criminally charged.
In informing Cook of her removal, Mr. Trump wrote in a letter shared on social media that he had “sufficient cause” to do so because of what he claimed was “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter.”
The Cook case “is directly on point and asks if the president can fire a Federal Reserve Board member,” Urman said, adding that the Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision by late June — after Powell’s term as Fed chief ends. “We should know where the law stands by the summer, but any attempts to fire Powell before then would pretty clearly be unlawful.”
Edited by Alain Sherter
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