Thune warns DOJ's probe of Fed Chair Powell 'better be real' and 'serious' amid political backlash

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., warned that the allegations against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell must be legitimate, and not politically influenced, as bipartisan unease over the criminal probe continues to ripple through the Senate. 

"I haven't seen the case or whatever the allegations or charges are," Thune said. "But I would say they better be — they better be real and they better be serious."

Thune’s comments followed a wave of bipartisan anger over the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) criminal probe into Powell, with Senate Republicans threatening to block any of President Donald Trump’s future Fed nominees until the issue was resolved. 

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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., vowed to "oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy," shortly after the news of the probe into Powell broke.

He was later backed up by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who said after speaking with the central bank chief that "it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion," and she threatened a congressional investigation into the DOJ. 

When asked about Tillis’ position, Thune said that people would "react to this differently," but reiterated that without knowing the full breadth of the investigation, it was hard to jump to conclusions. 

"But as I've said earlier, I think it's really important that it can resolve quickly and that there not be any appearance of political interference with the Fed or its activities," he said.

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Powell contended that the investigation was not related to testimony he gave before the Senate Banking Committee last year regarding the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., but rather 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." 

U.S. District Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a statement on X that her office had contacted the Fed "on multiple occasions to discuss cost overruns and the chairman’s congressional testimony, but were ignored, necessitating the use of legal process — which is not a threat."

"The word ‘indictment’ has come out of Mr. Powell’s mouth, no one else’s," Pirro said. "None of this would have happened if they had just responded to our outreach. This office makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less. We agree with the chairman of the Federal Reserve that no one is above the law, and that is why we expect his full cooperation."

Thune also acknowledged that Tillis’ hold on Fed nominees would make things difficult moving forward as the investigation plays out, given that Powell’s term atop the central bank expires in May. 

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He said that it would be good to ensure continuity at the Fed, and "that the central bank maintains its independence." 

"I mean, they've got a couple of key missions when it comes to the economy, particularly dealing with inflation, which obviously is impacted by interest rate policy," Thune said. "And so I want to see them operate in an independent way, free of politics."

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Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., railed against the investigation and called the allegations fueling it "clearly bogus." 

"Anyone with two eyes and half a brain knows exactly what this criminal probe represents: a brazen attempt by Donald Trump to cannibalize the Fed's independence," he said.