The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., issued subpoenas to the Federal Reserve as the DOJ begins an investigation into Jerome Powell, chair of the Fed, over the central bank’s renovations and whether Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project.
The inquiry was approved by Jeanine Pirro in November.
Powell’s term as chair ends in May, but will remain a governor until January 2028.
In an unprecedented video message in response, Powell said on Sunday evening, “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
What people are saying:
“I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” Trump said Sunday evening.
The renovations in question are estimated to be about $700 million over budget, and involves modernizing and expanding two buildings that have not seen comprehensive renovations since the 1930s.
Part of the project includes removing asbestos and lead contamination, as well as making the buildings handicap accessible.
A 2021 version of the Fed’s proposal described private elevators and dining rooms for top policymakers, water fountains and new marble features, in addition to a rooftop terrace for staff. But in June, Powell denied those features were part of the latest proposal.
“There’s no V.I.P. dining room; there’s no new marble,” he said. “We took down the old marble, we’re putting it back up. We’ll have to use new marble where some of the old marble broke. But there’s no special elevators. There’s just old elevators that have been there.”