President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed to fire Jerome Powell if he opted to stay on at the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends, doubling down on a criminal investigation into the central bank that is threatening to delay the confirmation of Powell’s successor.

Powell’s tenure as chair officially ends May 15, but both the law and past precedent suggest that he can serve on a temporary basis until Trump’s pick to replace him, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate. Powell can also stay on at the central bank as a governor until 2028.

The process to confirm Warsh is tied up in the Justice Department’s investigation into Powell and his handling of costly renovations at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington. Trump said Wednesday that the investigation was about showing Powell’s “incompetence.”

Federal prosecutors have faced a litany of legal setbacks in their pursuit of the case, with a judge as recently as this month denying the department’s request to reconsider an earlier ruling that quashed subpoenas issued to the central bank.

Powell told reporters in March that he had “no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality.” His decision to stay or go would ultimately be based on “what he thought was “best for the institution and for the people we serve,” Powell said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Colby Smith/Haiyun Jiang
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