GOP Lawmakers Blast Trump's Probe Of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

WASHINGTON ― Republican lawmakers are coming to the defense of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the opening of an unprecedented criminal probe into Powell by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice over the weekend.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested the investigation into renovations at the Fed’s headquarters is politically motivated, and threatened to oppose Trump’s nominees to the central bank until the matter is resolved.

“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 said in a statement on Sunday. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”

As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, where Republicans hold a 13-11 majority, Tillis’ vote is pivotal in getting any nominations out to the full Senate floor.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also said it’s “clear” that the probe is “nothing more than an attempt at coercion” by the White House, adding further that Congress ought to investigate the Justice Department if it doesn’t drop the investigation.

“If the Department of Justice believes an investigation into Chair Powell is warranted based on project cost overruns — which are not unusual — then Congress needs to investigate the Department of Justice,” Murkowski said. “The stakes are too high to look the other way: if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer.”

Trump appointed Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve in 2017, and his term is due to expire in May 2026. However, the president has fumed at Powell for months, publicly pressuring him to lower interest rates ahead of the midterm elections and to resign as chair, a break from decades of central bank independence.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), another member of the Senate Banking Committee, called Powell a “bad” Federal Reserve chair, citing his handling of monetary policy during the COVID-19 pandemic and President Joe Biden’s administration.

“I do not believe, however, he is a criminal,” Cramer told CNBC. “I hope this criminal investigation can be put to rest quickly along with the remainder of Jerome Powell’s term.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) seemed to dismiss the probe during an interview with Fox News Business.

“I think this is the president throwing out one more ― maybe he’s almost trolling here,” Marshall told the outlet. “We got bigger issues to go after than this one, though.”

The cost of renovating the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington increased from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion. Powell said scrutiny of the project is legitimate, but he called the matter a “pretext” for gutting the independence of the Federal Reserve.

“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell said in an extraordinary video message he posted online on Sunday. “It is not about Congress’ oversight role; the Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. 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.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the banking committee, warned that Trump is planning to “install another sock puppet to complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank.”

“Trump is abusing the authorities of the Department of Justice like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves his interests, along with his billionaire friends,” Warren said in a statement. “This Committee and the Senate should not move forward with any Trump nominee for the Fed, including Fed Chair.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, hasn’t said anything publicly about the DOJ’s attack on Powell, and did not respond to a request for comment. HuffPost reached out to all of the other Republican members of the committee who haven’t already spoken up, and most did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senior Republicans in the House signaled their discomfort with the DOJ probe of Powell as well. Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) called it an “unnecessary distraction” and said it would “undermine this and future Administrations’ ability to make sound monetary policy decisions.”

Jennifer Bendery contributed reporting.

CORRECTION: Sen. Roger Marshall does not sit on the Senate Banking Committee.