Source: Sharecast
"If he's not leaving on time – I've held back firing him, I've wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial, you know. I want to be uncontroversial, but he will be fired," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
If Trump carries through on his threat, it will be the first time in history that a Fed chair has been fired.
Powell's eight-year stint as Fed chief, which is set to finish on 15 May, has been marred over the past year by an ongoing spat with the president, who has repeatedly called on the central bank to lower interest rates. Trump then launched a criminal investigation in Powell, focused on his congressional testimony about internal overspending at the Fed.
It is thought that the probe could disrupt the appointment of Trump's nominated successor Kevin Warsh, with Powell set to continue in his post until the Senate confirms the appointment.
North Carolina Republican senator Thom Tillis, who is part of the Senate Banking Committee that signs off Fed nominees, asserted this week that he would not vote on Warsh's nomination until the investigation into Powell is over.
Last month, judge James Boasberg ruled that the probe was unjustified, saying that prosecutor Jeanine Pirro had "no evidence", while Powell continues to claim that it was simply a tactic by the Trump administration to undermine Fed independence.
In a statement last month following Boasberg's ruling, Tillis called the investigation "weak and frivolous [...] and nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence".
"We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on. Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair," Tillis said.