Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and residents of the Twin Cities of Minnesota will be the recipients of the 2026 Profile in Courage Award. The awards will be presented on May 31, 2026, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester. Caroline Kennedy, honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and her son Jack Schlossberg, will host the ceremony.
Powell will be honored for defending the independence of the Federal Reserve amid sustained political pressure from President Trump and Republican allies of the president.
The award will also recognize the people of Minneapolis–St. Paul for their response to a large-scale federal immigration enforcement surge in recent months. The foundation cited their actions as a demonstration of civic courage and commitment to constitutional rights.
In a joint statement, Kennedy and Schlossberg said this year’s recipients “demonstrated moral courage across our society,” highlighting both public officials and ordinary citizens who acted “without regard for personal or professional consequences.”
Established in 1989, the Profile in Courage Award honors public servants who take principled stands despite political risk. It is named for President Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book and is symbolized by a silver lantern representing a beacon of hope.
Among thepast honorees are former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush, and Gerald Ford, Sen. John McCain, and former Vice President Mike Pence, who received the award last year for actions taken during the certification of the 2020 presidential election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and former Rep. Liz Cheney have also received the honor.
