Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reveals whether he will resign if Donald Trump asks

During his first term, Trump selected Powell to be the Fed's chairman in 2017.

Powell said that his staff discovered that the President lacked legal power to demote him or any other Fed governors at will and that he was not legally bound to depart if asked to do so.

After the release of Federal Open Market Committee's most recent interest rate policy statement, Powell made the remarks during the customary press conference. On Thursday, the committee declared a quarter-point cut.

Powell's remarks are probably interpreted as an attempt to preserve the Fed's long-standing protection from external political influence, albeit there has occasionally been discussion about whether this exemption actually exists in reality.