The Department of Justice's (DOJ) new criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has lit up Washington. The probe will investigate whether Powell lied to Congress about the estimated $2.5 billion price tag for the Fed building's renovation.
Powell, who argues the probe is actually because of his refusal to follow Trump's demands on interest rates, released a remarkable on-camera statement Sunday night in which he said he's been threatened with a criminal indictment. 📹 Watch the 2-minute statement
Trump has denied any involvement. He told NBC News that he doesn't "know anything about" the probe, before pivoting to his repeated bashing of Powell. The president also denied that the subpoenas are related to his long-running feud with the Fed chief.
Washington leaders are beginning to react — and so far, they haven't been particularly supportive of the investigation:
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) accused Trump of "bullying" the Federal Reserve. That response was expected.
But several prominent Republican senators are also questioning the criminal investigation.
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), who has been publicly at odds with the president at times and isn't running for reelection, questioned the "credibility" of the DOJ's investigation, saying he is blocking any Federal Reserve nominees until the issue 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. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question," Tillis said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) said she spoke with Powell this morning and accused the Trump administration of "an attempt at coercion," adding, "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."
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall (Kan.) also questioned whether a criminal investigation of the Fed is really worth the Trump administration's time. "I think there are other issues we should be focused on. I think this is the president … almost trolling here," Marshall told Fox Business's Maria Bartiromo this morning. "We got bigger issues to go after than this one, though."
For context: President Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner last year. Trump has called him a "numbskull," "a dumb guy" and "an obvious Trump Hater," just to name a few.
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