Powell probe over Fed HQ renovation should continue
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on February 2, 2026, as he announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Monday that the criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should continue, shrugging off a Republican senator’s promise to block Trump’s pick to replace the Fed chair unless the investigation is dropped.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Washington U.S. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the unprecedented investigation into the central bank governor, “needs to go and see it through.”
The chairman was asked whether Pirro should abandon his efforts in light of Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announcing Friday that he would oppose any new Fed nominee until the Powell investigation is fully resolved.
Tillis drew this line the day Trump announced that he had chosen Kevin Warsh to replace Powell as Fed chairman after a months-long selection process.
Tillis, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban AffairsIt consists of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. If Tillis sides with all Democrats on the panel in opposing Warsh, it could create a stalemate that would prevent the nominee from advancing to a full vote in the Senate.
Powell announced on January 11 that he was under criminal investigation.
The announcement comes after Trump and his allies regularly criticized Powell for months for his refusal to cut interest rates as quickly or as drastically as the president wanted.
Powell accused the administration of threatening him with prosecution because the Fed, despite pressure from Trump, made its rate-setting decisions “based on our best assessment of what would serve the public, rather than following the President’s preferences.”
CNBC reported Wednesday that the Fed has yet to comply with grand jury subpoenas issued as part of Pirro’s investigation.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that the years-long, multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters was due to Powell’s incompetence or corruption.
“This is either gross incompetence or some kind of theft, kickback. I don’t know what it is,” Trump said in his Oval Office speech on Monday.
“But Jeanine Pirro is incredible and will figure it out,” he added.
Fed’s defended renewal effortsHe tried to explain the cost increases by saying that they would reduce the central bank’s costs over time. Powell’s term ends in May.
