Jerome Powells time as the head of the Federal Reserve is coming to an end in May.

So what is going to happen after that? The thing is, nobody really knows for sure.

Jerome Powell is not saying anything about what he thinks will happen next. Jerome Powell is keeping quiet, about his plans.

So the Federal Reserve chair term for Powell is ending this spring.. Powell is also a Fed governor and that role is not ending for two more years.

Powell has not said if he will stay on the Federal Reserve board after he stops being the chair. He keeps saying that it is not important to think about that now the Federal Reserve and Powells role, in it will be figured out later.

In December Powell had a press conference. He did not want to talk about it. He said he was focused on his time as chair of the Federal Reserve. Powell said he had nothing to say about the Federal Reserve. People noticed that Powell was quiet, about the Federal Reserve.

The decision is important because of math. The Federal Reserve Board has seven seats. Three of these seats are held by people who President Donald Trump chose. If Powell leaves the Federal Reserve Board in May then President Donald Trump will have people on the board, than anyone else.

People, on Wall Street the Treasury Department and the White House are keeping an eye on that possibility. They want to see what happens with that possibility. The Wall Street people, the Treasury Department and the White House are all watching that possibility carefully.

Why the Board Math Matters

The people in charge at the Federal Reserve or the Fed for short have a say in what happens with money. This means they get to decide things like how much it costs to borrow money. The President, Trump has not been happy with the person in charge of the Fed, Powell for a long time. Trump thinks Powell is the reason it costs much to borrow money and he has said so many times. The Fed and its leaders like Powell are very important when it comes to money and the Fed makes decisions, about interest rates.

June Donald Trump said something on social media that Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve board should be really disappointed in themselves for not doing what is best for the country. Donald Trump thinks that the interest rates should be a lot, around 1 percent. He also said that if someone wants to be the Federal Reserve chair they have to agree with Donald Trump or else Donald Trump will not choose them.

If Powell leaves and Trump gets people on the board that agree with him it could make it easier for him to lower interest rates a lot. The Federal Open Market Committee does not always vote together. If Trump has a lot of friends, on the committee it will be harder for people to say no to what Trump and the people who agree with him want to do with the interest rates.

The law is also something to think about. The Federal Reserve Act says that the board can remove the people in charge of the banks but lawyers do not agree if there has to be a good reason for this. If Powell stays on the board even if he does not have the power to make decisions it could make it hard to ignore the people who disagree. The Federal Reserve Act and the board are very important, in this situation. Powell staying on the board could affect what happens to the people who disagree with the Federal Reserve Act.

This is a situation. Usually former heads of the Federal Reserve do not stay on as governors after they leave their job. For example Ben Bernanke left before his time as a governor was over and went to work in the sector. Janet Yellen also left early. Then took another job with the government. The fact that people are even talking about what Federal Reserve head Powell will do shows how much politics is involved in this decision. Federal Reserve head Powells decision is being debated because the Federal Reserve has become very political.

Personal Factors and Political Pressure

Powell has been at the Federal Reserve for thirteen years. He was the chair for eight of those years. The people who know the Federal Reserve well think this decision is about Powell personally and about his job. Powell has had to deal with a lot of criticism from the public for a time and a lot of that criticism came from the Federal Reserve Chairmans critic, Trump, who was the one who gave Powell the job in the first place, at the Federal Reserve.

Outside of his job Powell seems like he is ready to slow down a bit. He likes to play golf and listen to music. Powell also just became a grandfather, which's really exciting, for him. A lot of people think Powell will leave the Federal Reserve completely in May. However some people do not think it is impossible that Powell will stick around for a while to help with the transition.

The Federal Reserve chair is an important position. One Federal Reserve chair has ever stayed on the board after they were done being the chair. This was Marriner Eccles. He did this in 1948. On Marriner Eccles played a big part, in getting the 1951 Treasury-Fed Accord. The 1951 Treasury-Fed Accord was a deal because it made the Federal Reserve more independent.

Legal risks are something that we have to think about. They add another layer to the things that we have to deal with. This means that legal risks are a problem that we must consider when we are thinking about the legal risks. The legal risks are a concern because they can cause a lot of trouble. We have to think about the risks and how they will affect us. The legal risks are a part of the situation. We cannot ignore the legal risks.

There is something to think about. This is the problem that Fed Governor Lisa Cook is dealing with. The thing started when Trump tried to get rid of her because of a claim that she did something with a mortgage.. Fed Governor Lisa Cook says this is not true. The courts stopped the removal from happening. The Justice Department has not done anything about it yet. Fed Governor Lisa Cook is still, in the middle of this issue.

The Supreme Court will hear this case on January 21. We should know what they decide later. If the Supreme Court says it is okay to remove her then Trump will have people on the board who agree with him even if Powell is still there. The thing that really matters is that the Supreme Court might make a decision that will give the president more power to remove other people like Powell, which could put Powell in a tough spot. The Supreme Court and their decision on January 21 are very important, for Trump and Powell.

People think that the president has control, over everything.. That is not really true. The governors do not always do what the president who chose them wants them to do. For example the three governors that President Trump appointed made a decision recently. They voted to keep all 12 bank presidents in their jobs for another five years. This shows that the governors can still make their decisions and do not always have to listen to the president. The regional bank presidents are getting five-year terms and the Trump-appointed governors are the ones who made this happen. This means that the governors are independent and can make their choices like the decision to reappoint the regional bank presidents.

Silence as Strategy or Principle

People think that Powell is not saying anything on purpose. When Powell does not say anything he can still do what he wants later. He does not have to commit to something before he sees what Trump does next, with his nominations. We do not really know if that is what Powell is thinking. It is possible that Powell is doing this for a reason.

Other people look at this situation in a way. Powell has always stayed away, from talking about politics. He does not say anything when people attack him personally. Powell does not answer questions. This is probably his way of showing that he is independent and reminding people that the law says Powell has the right to decide when Powell will leave and Powell gets to choose when that happens.

Staying on would likely invite even more political pressure and break modern precedent. Leaving would avoid that spotlight altogether. For now, Powell appears content to let the speculation run while he finishes his term as chair.