Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is facing a criminal investigation from the Department of Justice, bringing months of conflict with President Donald Trump to a head.
Powell is accused of lying to Congress in June about the costs of renovating the Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C. Powell said the charges against him stem from the Fed’s interest-rate policy, which has not aligned with Trump’s economic agenda, much to the president’s consternation.
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell said in a video statement on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had “instructed her U.S. Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars,” in a statement to the Associated Press.
Trump denied any involvement in the case against Powell. “I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” Trump said in an interview with NBC on Sunday. The president denied that the case was about interests rates, which he still called “far too high.”
“I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way,” Trump said. “He’s hurt a lot of people,” he added. “I think the public is pressuring him.”
The escalation made immediate waves with Congress. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., blasted the development, saying “the independence and credibility” of the DOJ are “in question.”
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“I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved,” Tillis said in a statement.
Rep. Anna Paulina Laura, R-Fla., who called for a criminal investigation into Powell in July, celebrated the move, accusing him of “perjury.”
“It’s good to see my criminal referral working in real time,” Laura said in a post on X.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused Trump of a “corrupt takeover” of the Fed. “He is abusing the law like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves him and his billionaire friends,” Warren said in a statement.
