The Trump administration has dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which will pave the way for Trump’s nominee Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell’s successor.
The investigation centered on the cost of renovations at the Washington, D.C., offices of the Federal Reserve, and whether Powell lied to Congress about it. The project was expected to cost about $1.9 billion, but the number ended up closer to $2.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
“This morning the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns – in the billions of dollars – that have been borne by taxpayers,” Jeanine Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement posted to X on Friday morning.
She added that the inspector general is being asked to provide a report “in short order” to ensure that it will answering “the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.”
“Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry. Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so,” she continued.
Critics of the investigation said that it risked the independence of the Federal Reserve—as Trump has been a staunch critic of Powell over interest rates. The president has repeatedly demanded the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates much more aggressively.
The decision to end the probe could satisfy an ultimatum from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a Trump critic, to move Warsh’s nomination out of the Senate Banking Committee.
“You have extraordinary credentials. They’re impeccable,” Tillis said at a committee hearing with Warsh earlier this week, according to The Hill.
Tillis bluntly stated over X that Warsh “is a great nominee to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and I look forward to supporting him out of committee once the DOJ drops their bogus investigation into Chairman Powell that threatens the independence of the Fed.”
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