Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell plans to stay on as a central bank governor for an undetermined period of time when his leadership term ends next month, amid hopes that ongoing political attacks on the institution will settle down.

"After my term as chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time to be determined," Powell told a news conference Wednesday after his last policy meeting as chair.

"I'm not looking to be ... a high-profile dissident or anything like that," the central bank chief said. He said he wants to see that the political climate that led to unprecedented legal attacks on the central bank has "calmed down" and the Fed can be more focused on its core mission.

In effect, he reiterated a pledge he made after the Fed's March 17-18 policy meeting, when the central bank was still in the thick of legal challenges from the Trump administration.

"I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors," Powell told reporters.

Since that meeting, some of the legal uncertainty was resolved.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro last week seemingly ended a U.S. Department of Justice criminal probe into cost overruns at the Fed's headquarters in Washington. Powell fought the probe in January and said the inquiry was punishment for not giving in to President Donald Trump's demands for big interest rate cuts.

In closing the investigation, Pirro deferred to an ongoing probe by the Fed's inspector general, the central bank's in-house watchdog. That move cleared a roadblock in the Senate Banking Committee for Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee who seeks confirmation to succeed Powell as Fed chief on May 15.

However, Powell noted Pirro said she "would not hesitate to restart the investigation."

Powell's separate term as a member of the Fed board of governors extends through January 2028. By remaining on the board, Powell could band together with other policymakers to try to ward off further attempts by Trump and his supporters to pressure the central bank.