Criminal probe into Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is ending, U.S. Justice Dept. says
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The Justice Department is closing its investigation into cost overruns in renovations at the Federal Reserve under chairman Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday.
Pirro said the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve has now been asked to scrutinize the building costs.
President Donald Trump has been angry with Powell since shortly after appointing him as chairman during his first term in the White House, usually related to the timing of interest rate cuts.
The Pirro investigation, however, had stiffened Powell’s attitude toward remaining in a Fed governor’s seat that extends to 2028, the last full year of Trump’s presidency. Fed chiefs traditionally depart the board as well when their leadership terms end.
Powell’s term as chair is set to expire May 15.
Trump administration threats against Powell, including the criminal investigation, were threatening to delay the Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee for a successor.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the Senate’s banking committee, has said he regarded the probe as a frivolous assault on the Fed’s independence and would block Warsh’s confirmation until it is dismissed.
The launch of a criminal investigation into U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has politicians on all sides questioning what it could mean for the independence of the institution in charge of the country’s monetary policy.
Democrats and former Federal Reserve leaders also slammed the probe into costs as a pretext for undermining the independence of the panel from the White House. Trump has frequently cited incorrect numbers for the cost of the renovations, earning a correction from Powell last year when the pair were standing side by side.
Three of the Fed’s seven current governors were appointed by then-president Joe Biden, including Lisa Cook. The Trump administration has sought to fire Cook, a case that is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court.