The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation plans to hand its 2026 Profile in Courage Award to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and to residents of Minnesota’s Twin Cities at a May 31 gala at the JFK Library in Boston. The timing is striking: Powell is juggling sustained political heat and a Department of Justice inquiry tied to his congressional testimony about a roughly $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. The ceremony is set for an outdoor tent on the Columbia Point waterfront, with roughly 650 guests expected.
A 15-member, bipartisan selection committee chose Powell after the foundation’s staff whittled thousands of nominations down to about two dozen finalists, with voting at the committee’s February meeting, as reported by The Boston Globe. Rachel Flor, the foundation’s executive director, told the paper the committee "looked much harder than usual at appointed nominations" and that escalating threats to democratic institutions helped move Powell onto the short list. Bob Rivers, the foundation’s new board chair and executive chairman of Eastern Bank, said the pick has already spurred interest among business leaders, according to the The Boston Globe.
What the foundation said
In a March 19 press release, the JFK Library Foundation said it is honoring Powell "for protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve" and for refusing to allow political pressure to dictate monetary policy. The same release said residents of the Twin Cities would share the award for "risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members" during a major federal immigration enforcement operation that drew nationwide protest.
Pressure from the White House and the courts
Powell has been a frequent target of President Trump’s public criticism, and in January the Justice Department served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas tied to Powell’s testimony about the costly headquarters renovation project, according to AP. In March, a federal judge quashed at least two of those subpoenas and wrote that the court saw evidence they could have been issued to pressure the Fed, a legal twist covered by Bloomberg.
Why the Twin Cities were singled out
The foundation’s release casts the Twin Cities honor as recognition of broad community resistance to what it described as unprecedented federal immigration enforcement in 2025, highlighting faith leaders, labor groups and volunteers who organized rapid-response networks. The region has also been at the center of national debate after two high-profile shootings during protests, the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, which set off mass demonstrations and drew federal civil-rights scrutiny, as reported by The Washington Post.
Legal implications
The court rulings and the Justice Department’s continued push for records could influence whether Powell stays in Federal Reserve leadership beyond his term as chair and whether the Warsh nomination advances, Bloomberg reported. For the foundation’s selection committee, choosing Powell also spotlights a broader debate over institutional independence that the award has long aimed to highlight, according to the JFK Library Foundation.
The awards will be presented by Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg on May 31 at the library’s Columbia Point campus. Because of demand, the foundation is putting the event under a tent, only the third time the ceremony has moved outdoors after 2017 and 2019, The Boston Globe notes. With a high-profile central banker and a grassroots civic movement sharing the spotlight, the gala is shaping up as one of the more politically charged stops on the foundation’s spring calendar.
