Trump says he doesn’t ‘know anything about’ the DOJ’s investigation into the Federal Reserve

President Donald Trump says he doesn’t know anything about the criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve, despite his long held criticism of the agency’s Chair Jerome Powell.

In a statement on Sunday, Powell accused the investigation of being politically driven. President Trump has long pressured the independent central bank head to do more to slash interest rates.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said in the release.

“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 told NBC News on Sunday.

The president stressed that the investigation is not related to interest rates.

“No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way. What should pressure him is the fact that rates are far too high. That’s the only pressure he’s got. He’s hurt a lot of people. I think the public is pressuring him,” Trump continued.

The investigation was reportedly approved in November by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime Trump ally who was confirmed in August.

“We do not comment on ongoing investigations,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Independent.

“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law,” Powell added in his statement. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”

The investigation prompted criticism from Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the Banking Committee, who warned that the move undermined the Fed’s independence.

“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis wrote on X. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question. I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved.”

The investigation follows a December threat by President Trump to file a lawsuit alleging “gross incompetence” against Powell.

Frequent critics of the president also spoke out against the investigation.

“Good for Jerome Powell for standing up to this corrupt authoritarian absurdity,” former Obama administration official and podcaster Dan Pfeiffer wrote on X.

The White House, when asked for comment, referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond when contacted.

Powell was alerted to the investigation on Friday, when the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas seeking Powell’s testimony from last June before the Senate Banking Committee regarding the renovation.

Trump nominated Powell in 2017, but has since soured on the official, and spent much of 2025 pushing him to cut rates.

The renovation project has been underway since Trump’s first term, but it only recently caught the president’s attention, as he pushed to oust Powell.

“When you spend $2.5 billion on, really, a renovation, I think it’s really disgraceful,” Trump said last July.

The Trump administration has criticized the project for exceeding its original $600 million budget, a spike the Fed attributed to early-2020s inflation and the unexpected presence of asbestos that required removal.

Powell’s term as chair ends in May, though he will remain a Federal Reserve governor until January 2028.

President Trump told The New York Times this week he has a replacement in mind, and added that his top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, is “certainly one of the people that I like.”