Republican senators are furious over President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) served Powell with a subpoena as part of its investigation into whether Powell intentionally lied to Congress during testimony about the ongoing renovations of the central bank’s headquarters. By Sunday, Powell made a bombshell announcement: He is facing a criminal investigation from the DOJ.The hefty renovation project isn’t being paid for with taxpayer dollars, NBC confirmed.Speaking with the reporters for a Tuesday report, one Republican member of Congress complained, “Maybe we should lose the majority, so [the] White House and leadership stop making stupid decisions. Our leadership and admin just keep doubling down on stupid.”Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said that it is obvious the Justice Department is targeting Powell as part of an ongoing pressure campaign to get him off of the Board of Governors. Powell’s term as chairman is up in May but he will remain on the board until Jan. 2028. “It’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” Murkowski told NBC News. “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,” she said in the statement.”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,” she added.House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Arkansas) is speaking out as well. Speaking to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, Hill said it was an “unnecessary distraction.”In a post on X, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) was so furious over the matter that he said he would block any Fed nominees “until this legal matter is fully 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 wrote. “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.”Murkowski agreed, saying Tillis was “right in blocking any Federal Reserve nominees until this is resolved.”Tillis told NBC News he hadn’t spoken to the administration about the matter. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) threatened, “I haven’t seen the case or whatever the allegations or charges are, but they better be real, and they better be serious.”Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) wants the Trump administration’s investigation “put to rest quickly.” “I do not believe, however, he is a criminal,” Cramer said of Powell. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) also said he did “not think Chairman Powell is guilty of criminal activity.”McCormick said that he feared the Fed’s renovation project “may well have wasted taxpayer dollars.” He didn’t appear to know that the project isn’t being funded by taxpayer dollars. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), typically a Trump loyalist, said he would be “shocked if [Powell] has done anything wrong.””If you wanted to design a system to cause interest rates to go up and not down, you would have the Federal Reserve of the United States and the executive branch of the United States get into a pissing contest,” said Kennedy.He went on to tell “everybody,” including Trump, to “take their meds and step back a little bit.”Losing key allies prompted one CNN analyst to say Trump was “losing [the] political fight” over Powell. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) expressed her concern, saying the video Powell put out about the matter raised “a lot of disturbing questions.”Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dismissed criticism, saying U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro was simply doing her job. Trump has spent the past several years alleging that the Justice Department was being “weaponized” against him and his allies. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told reporters on Monday that it appears Trump is the one weaponizing the DOJ. One economist warned that this move by Trump is indicative of “tin-pot dictators” and could increase inflation as a result. Read the full report here.
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