--- title: "Trump team ramps up attack on Fed's Powell with criminal indictment threat" description: "U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is intensifying its pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, threatening criminal indictment over comments regarding a $2.5 billion building renova" type: "news" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/272217622.md" published_at: "2026-01-12T04:46:45.000Z" --- # Trump team ramps up attack on Fed's Powell with criminal indictment threat > U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is intensifying its pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, threatening criminal indictment over comments regarding a $2.5 billion building renovation. Powell claims this is a tactic to influence Fed policy on interest rates, which Trump wants lowered. The situation raises concerns about the Fed's independence, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis opposing any Trump nominees to the Fed until the legal matter is resolved. Powell's term ends in May, but analysts suggest he may remain in defiance of the administration's actions. Powell accuses administration of using legal threats to influence Fed policy Subpoenas mark escalation in Trump-Powell conflict over interest rates White House criticized Fed’s $2.5 billion building renovation as costly By Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ramped up its pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve, threatening to indict Chair Jerome Powell over comments to Congress about a building renovation project, an action Powell called a “pretext” to gain more influence over interest rates Trump wants cut dramatically. The latest development in a long-running effort by Trump for greater control over the Fed had immediate fallout, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee that vets Presidential nominees for the Fed, saying the threatened indictment puts the Department of Justice’s “independence and credibility” in question. Tillis said he would oppose any Trump nominees to the Fed, including the coming choice of successor to Powell as chair, “until this legal matter is fully resolved.” At stake is the independence of the Fed - the world’s most important central bank - to set U.S. monetary policy without undue influence by elected officials like Trump who would prefer cheaper borrowing costs for their political appeal. Powell - elevated to Fed chair by Trump in 2018 - will complete his term as Fed leader in May, but he is not obligated to leave, and a number of analysts saw the latest move by the administration as adding to the chances of him staying on in defiance. The action - emerging about two weeks before Trump’s effort to fire another Fed official, Governor Lisa Cook, will be argued before the Supreme Court - was met with a guarded reaction on Wall Street. Investors have been warily watching as the sparring match between Trump and the Fed has played out ever since Trump was elected to a second term in November 2024 on promises to improve affordability for Americans after a run of high inflation. U.S. equity index futures were about 0.5% lower ahead of Monday’s opening bell, and the dollar weakened. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed. (MKTS/GLOB) “Tonight’s revelations mark a dramatic escalation in the administration’s effort to kick the legs out from under the Fed, and could unleash a series of unintended consequences that go directly against President Trump’s stated aims,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. ‘THREATS AND ONGOING PRESSURE’ Trump officials’ latest salvo was revealed late Sunday by Powell, who said the Fed had received subpoenas from the Justice Department last week pertaining to remarks he made to Congress last summer over cost overruns for a $2.5 billion building renovation project at the Fed’s headquarters complex in Washington. “On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June,” Powell said. “I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. 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” for lower interest rates and more broadly for greater say over the Fed, he said. “This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress’s oversight role…Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is 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.” Trump told NBC News Sunday that he had no knowledge of the Justice Department’s actions. “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. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the case but added: “The Attorney General has instructed her U.S. Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars.” ### POWELL INQUIRY A ‘LOW POINT’ IN TRUMP PRESIDENCY Trump has demanded the Fed cut rates sharply since resuming office in January, blaming its policy for holding back the economy and musing about firing Powell despite the legal protections ostensibly covering the Fed chair from removal. The independence of central banks, at least in setting interest rates in order to control inflation, is considered a central tenet of robust economic policy, insulating monetary policymakers from short-term political considerations and allowing them to focus on longer-term efforts to keep prices relatively stable. The inquiry into Powell “is a low point in Trump’s presidency and a low point in the history of central banking in America,” said Peter Conti-Brown, a Fed historian at the University of Pennsylvania. “Congress did not design the Fed to reflect the president’s daily fluctuations, and because the Fed has rebuffed President Trump’s efforts to take the Fed down he is launching the full weight of American criminal law against its Chair.” ### Related Stocks - [DJT.US - Trump Media & Tech](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DJT.US.md) ## Related News & Research | Title | Description | URL | |-------|-------------|-----| | 美眾議院投票否決對加拿大加徵關税 6 名共和黨議員倒戈 | 美國眾議院通過法案，試圖終止川普對加拿大的關税，顯示出白宮經濟政策的脆弱性。儘管 6 名共和黨議員倒戈，法案通過的可能性仍然微乎其微。川普威脅否決該法案，並考慮退出《美墨加貿易協定》，加劇北美貿易緊張。共和黨在保住眾議院和參議院控制權方面面 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275693309.md) | | 當貶值預期遭遇 “強美元” 承諾，貝森特、沃什誰將成為 “背鍋俠”？ | 特朗普青睞弱勢美元，與其財長貝森特、美聯儲主席提名人沃什堅持的 “強美元政策” 形成直接衝突。為調和矛盾，華盛頓醖釀關税、干預匯市與貨幣政策聯動的 “雙軌策略”，但這可能動搖美聯儲獨立性。當前的政策模糊僅是權宜之計，一旦通脹反彈或美元失控， | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275596938.md) | | 特朗普威脅要阻止温莎和底特律之間新橋的通車 | 特朗普威脅阻止温莎與底特律之間新橋的開通 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275463290.md) | | 貝森特：2026 年通脹有望重回 2%，關税政策或存 “縮窄” 空間 | 美國財長貝森特表示，通脹有望 2026 年中回落至 2%，並暗示特朗普政府可能 * 縮窄” 金屬關税範圍以緩解輸入性通脹。關於美聯儲，他強調推進沃什的提名聽證會至關重要以保障政策連續性，儘管鮑威爾正面臨調查，他仍預計聽證會 “將會繼續進行” | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275905437.md) | | 貝森特和特朗普 “表忠心”：澄清強美元政策，重申起訴沃什是玩笑，暗示鮑威爾失職 | 被問及他和特朗普最近有關美元的言論哪個正確，貝森特説這是 “錯誤的二選一”，稱強美元政策並非指干預匯率，而是通過正確的經濟政策為美元創造強勁的基本面；沃什將為美聯儲帶來卓越的公信力和專業能力，特朗普非常尊重美聯儲的獨立性；“特朗普賬户” 可 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275178507.md) | --- > **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.