DOJ Drops Probe into Fed Chair Powell Over $2.5B
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- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro closed the DOJ investigation into the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell over building renovation costs after requesting the Fed’s inspector general to examine the cost overruns.
- Jeanine Pirro said she will restart a criminal investigation if the facts warrant it.
- President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and threatened to fire him if he does not lower interest rates.
- Sen. Thom Tillis warned he will not support Trump’s nominee, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, for Fed chair unless the DOJ drops its “bogus” investigation.
- A federal judge last month blocked the administration’s subpoenas to probe the Fed and Powell.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the DOJ’s announcement an attempt to clear the path for Senate Republicans to install Kevin Warsh as Fed chair and accused the DOJ of threatening to restart a bogus probe into Powell while not dropping a probe into Governor Lisa Cook.
Why it matters: The closure eliminates a leverage point Republican leaders could have used to demand Kevin Warsh’s appointment, strengthening Sen. Tillis’s ability to block the nomination and preserving the current Fed leadership pipeline, while critics like Sen. Warren view the move as a partisan effort to install a Trump‑aligned chair.
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