Did Jerome Powell write a July 22, 2025, letter informing President Donald Trump of his resignation as Chairman of the Federal Reserve? No, that's not true: A widely-shared screenshot of such a letter was in fact a fake, most likely produced using AI. Powell had not resigned as of July 23.
The fake letter appeared in a July 22, 2025, post on X (archived here). The text embedded in the letter read:
July 22, 2025
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C.Dear Mr. President.
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, effective at the close of business today, July 22, 2025.
Serving as Chair of the Federal Reserve has been the honor of my professional life. Over the past years. I have worked alongside dedicated colleagues to guide the U.S. economy through extraordinary challenges -- from the pandemic recovery to inflationary pressures and the ongoing evolution of digital finance. I am proud of what we have accomplished.
However, at this critical juncture, I believe new leadership is needed to carry forward the important work of the Federal Reserve and to reinforce public confidence in its independence and effectiveness, My decision comes from a deep commitment to preserving the institution's credibility, integrity, and mission.
I remain confident in the strength and resilience of the American economy and in the professionalism of the Federal Reserve staff. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, and I extend my full support to my successor as they continue the vital work of fostering maximum employment and price stability.
Respectfully,
Jerome H. Powell
Chairman
Federal Reserve Board
This is what it looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: Screenshot of image from July 22, 2025, post by x.com/WeAreWoke1776_3)
Trump has been repeatedly critical of Powell (archived here), but the July 22 "resignation letter" was fake, and most likely a product of AI.
The biggest clue as to its inauthenticity was the fake Federal Reserve seal at the bottom, which contained a mixture of real letters and garbled text -- often a telltale sign that an image has been created using AI. The following comparison illustrates the glitch. On the left is the real, authentic Federal Reserve seal, and on the right is the incoherent version included in the fake resignation letter:
(Image source: Lead Stories collage of images taken from: Wikimedia Commons; July 22, 2025, post by x.com/WeAreWoke1776_3)
Powell had not resigned, as of July 23, and a search of Google News and Yahoo! News for the words "Jerome Powell" and "resignation" yielded no relevant results (archived here and here).
Similarly, the website of the Federal Reserve contained no announcement (archived here) of Powell's supposed resignation, and he was still listed there as the chair (archived here), as of July 23.
