re: Trump’s Justice Department launches a criminal investigation of Fed chair; JPow responds

Tillis threatens to block Trump's fed nominees. From CNBC

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President Donald Trump will face an important obstacle — from within his own party — as he seeks to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Sunday he will block any Trump appointees to the central bank, including for the new chair, in light of revelations over the weekend that the Justice Department is investigating Powell for potential perjury charges.

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

“I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved,” he added.

That position substantially complicates the road to replacing Powell, whose term as chair expires in May. The banking committee, of which Tillis is a member, has 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, so even one defection sets up a stalemate.

Tillis usually supports Trump but occasionally has broken with the president. For instance, he was one of just two GOP senators to vote against the One Big Beautiful Bill spending package last year.

Powell’s position isn’t the only one at stake.

Stephen Miran’s term as governor ends in January, and there has been chatter about potential retirements, particularly Vice Chair Philip Jefferson.

However, news that the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a Trump confidant and former Fox News host, is investigating Powell for perjury clouds the situation. Powell on Sunday released a statement acknowledging the investigation and alleging it is a pretext for giving Trump power over the Fed.

“No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law, but this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said.

Tillis isn’t the only banking panel member to criticize Trump over the move.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who once called Powell “a dangerous man” and opposed his reappointment, accused Trump of wanting a “sock puppet” to lead the Fed and do his bidding by lowering interest rates.

“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. This Committee and the Senate should not move forward with any Trump nominee for the Fed, including Fed Chair,” Warren said in a statement.

While Powell’s term as chair ends in May, he can stay on as governor until 2028. He has not indicated yet whether he will do so.

The White House has been conducting an extensive search for the new chair, with the candidate field whittled down to five. Trump has indicated he will put forth a nominee this month.

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Yes. His turns ends this year.

The amount spent was staggering and an example of governmental stupidity- I thought the explanations even seemed insufficient.

However stupid, I doubt there is anything criminal there. Seems vengeful and appears to be an unnecessary distraction.

Not tin foil hat stuff.

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offered to give Trump a tour of the buildings, and Trump used that opportunity to try to put Powell on the spot about lowering interest rates. Again.

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To follow up on my last post, a random article from July 2025:

LINK

While I'm certainly not happy about our burning $2.5B on this bullshite, when I say that his responses seemed reasonable, it was in the context of the budget ballooning... from $1.9B. Now, I have absolutely no idea why it would cost $1.9B to begin with, but that budget was submitted back in 2021. If the original budget was criminal in some way, go get 'em. But based on the issues that cropped up, the overrun doesn't seem crazy under the circumstances, and certainly not criminal.

Now, with all of that said: end the Fed.

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Why do people not care about the fraud and waste?

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People do; the issue is that this doesn't appear to have anything to do with fraud and waste. Again, this was budgeted at $1.9B in 2021. Now here we are in 2026, and now it's a point of concern... after Trump spent the last year+ in open PR warfare with Powell re: interest rates. Now we're going to "open an investigation".

It just comes off as more political bullshite.

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Imagine appointing someone and then trying to frame them for some type of fraud or misconduct

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All while building a $100mm, ah no, $200mm, ah, no $400mm "ballroom" while criticizing construction costs at the Fed.

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Sure it looks bad but surely some folks are smart enough to not care about optics and care about the facts.

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It looks awful, but if the admin presents actual facts, I’ll absolutely care about them.

I simply have very little confidence we will see any incriminating “facts”.