Investigation of Fed chief Jerome Powell: What Trump has said about him

When Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said connected January 11 that helium is being criminally investigated by the national government, President Donald Trump told NBC News, “I don’t cognize thing astir it.”

Trump could person been successful the acheronian astir the specifics of the Department of Justice probe – approved successful November by United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, The New York Times reported – but helium has been wide astir his tendency to oust Powell.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3US Fed Chair Powell says he’s nether investigation, volition not bow to Trump
• list 2 of 3Republican lawmakers interruption from US president connected Fed seat indictment
• list 3 of 3US prosecutors unfastened probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

The probe focuses connected Powell’s oversight of the bank’s office renovation. He has been accused of misleading the US Congress astir the renovation project. The Federal Reserve has been undergoing gathering renovations since 2021 connected a task archetypal approved successful Trump’s archetypal term. The $2.5bn outgo is astir $600m implicit the archetypal budget, due to the fact that of plan changes, higher costs and much asbestos than anticipated.

The probe is the astir melodramatic escalation of long-simmering tensions betwixt Trump and Powell, who the president initially tapped for the apical Fed occupation but who has since drawn Trump’s ire with his go-slow attack connected lowering interest rates. The Fed has been gradually lowering the involvement rates, with 3 complaint cuts astatine the extremity of past year. Making the complaint excessively debased mightiness propulsion ostentation up.

Trump’s attacks connected the cardinal slope endanger its independency and quality to prosecute monetary policies distant from governmental pressures. They volition besides trim assurance successful the US economy, experts say.

All eyes volition beryllium connected the adjacent gathering of the Fed involvement rates reappraisal gathering scheduled for January 27-28.

Trump said astatine a December 29 quality league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his squad was weighing a “a gross incompetence lawsuit” against Powell.

Trump mightiness person been referring to a assertion of “gross negligence”, which tin beryllium pursued successful either civilian oregon transgression law, depending connected its severity.

That’s antithetic from the transgression probe launched by the Justice Department, which alleges that Powell lied to Congress astir the outgo and scope of the renovations. The Justice Department has yet to remark connected the investigation.

Powell’s word arsenic seat ends successful May, but helium tin stay arsenic a Fed politician done January 2028.

“No 1 – surely not the seat of the Federal Reserve – is supra the law,” Powell said successful a video statement. “But this unprecedented enactment should beryllium seen successful the broader discourse of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”

The White House did not respond to our petition for comment.

The probe into Powell aligns with different Trump administration efforts to prosecute the president’s adversaries, including erstwhile FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both prosecutions person experienced setbacks, with expansive juries declining to indict oregon judicial rulings being fixed successful the defendants’ favour.

In a September Truth Social post, Trump straight addressed Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to measurement up the Justice Department’s prosecutorial efforts, including against Democratic Senator Adam Schiff. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!” helium wrote.

Trump also moved to fire another Fed governor, Lisa Cook, citing a “criminal referral” from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, relating to owe fraud. Cook has challenged her firing, and her tribunal lawsuit is proceeding.

Trump’s December 29 remarks are the clearest helium made astir utilizing the ineligible strategy to oust Powell.

In his 2nd term, Trump has often called for Powell to resign and often attacked him:

• On April 17, 2025: “I’m not blessed with him. I fto him cognize it and, oh, if I privation him out, he’ll beryllium retired of determination existent fast.”
• On June 18, 2025: “We person a anserine person, frankly, astatine the Fed.”
• On July 13, 2025: “Jerome Powell’s been precise atrocious for our country.”
• On July 15, 2025: “You speech to the guy, it’s similar talking to a nothing. It’s similar talking to a chair. No personality, nary precocious intelligence, nary nothing.”
• On July 22, 2025: “I was precise bully to him astatine the opening due to the fact that I cognize however to merchantability and, you know, astatine a definite constituent it didn’t substance immoderate much due to the fact that the feline is conscionable not a astute person.”
• On August 1, 2025: Powell is “a stubborn MORON”.
• On August 13, 2025 and September 20, 2025: Powell is “incompetent”.
• On November 18, 2025 and December 9, 2025: Powell is “a anserine man” and “not a astute guy”. 

Can Trump occurrence Powell?

If the Justice Department tin convict Powell, it could fulfill the constrictive grounds for removing the Fed chair, which tin beryllium done “for origin by the President”. This refers to “inefficiency, neglect of duty, oregon malfeasance successful office”, according to a Supreme Court determination astir the Federal Trade Commission.

In a May determination that allowed the president to occurrence members of autarkic commissions, the Supreme Court noted that the ruling did not impact the Fed, which it called “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity”.

If the Supreme Court rules against Cook, and Powell is recovered guilty, 2 spots volition go vacant that the Trump medication tin capable with its prime of candidates.

But Trump’s determination has drawn backlash, including from his Republican Party. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has called for an probe of the Justice Department.

Tillis, who sits connected the Banking Committee that oversees the Fed, has said helium volition not enactment immoderate of Trump’s aboriginal Fed nominees. The ruling enactment has a slender 13-11 bulk successful the Committee.

Peter Conti-Brown, a University of Pennsylvania prof of fiscal regulation, told PolitiFact successful July that Powell could reason that leveraging the renovation fund is simply a “pretext” for his firing – a ineligible word utilized to picture a mendacious crushed an leader gives for firing an worker to screen the existent reason.

“Courts evaluating immoderate attempted removal aft the information volition measure some the animus and pretext precise heavy against President Trump,” Conti-Brown said.

Powell, successful his video response, called the investigatory inquiries “pretexts” that disguise the existent crushed for the administration’s tendency to oust him, which is the quality implicit mounting involvement rates.