Pirro’s probe into the Fed’s Powell will be difficult to appeal

Federal prosecutors in Washington are facing a decision that will help determine whether Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is swiftly replaced or lingers on while politicians fight over his replacement.

If they do move ahead with a planned appeal against a recent adverse ruling, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro insists they will, they risk having the investigation bogged down in complex, unsettled law, former federal prosecutors with experience in appellate law say. 

“Regardless of the procedural vehicle they choose, the substantive road ahead of them is brutally steep,” said Sean P. Murphy, a former assistant U.S. attorney who has argued before the judge who ruled against Pirro’s probe of Powell and has briefed the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The Trump administration’s plans to quickly confirm former Fed official Kevin Warsh as Powell’s replacement are looking increasingly likely to be a casualty of that legal battle.

Powell in January said the Fed had received subpoenas from Pirro’s office, which he called a pretext to punish him for declining to meet President Donald Trump‘s demands to lower interest rates. Later legal proceedings revealed that the subpoenas were related to the cost overruns on Fed building renovations and his testimony about them, matters that Trump has said involve “criminality,” without citing specific evidence. 

The Fed’s attorneys asked Chief Judge James Boasberg of the D.C. District Court to quash the subpoenas, which he did, saying the prosecutors had not showed meaningful evidence of any malfeasance by Powell or the Fed. On April 3, Boasberg denied the prosecutors’ request to reconsider the decision, leaving the investigation in limbo. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican set to retire in early 2027, has said he will block Warsh from advancing until the investigation into Powell is closed. Powell’s term as chair expires May 15, but he expects the Fed’s board to allow him to stay on as interim chair until a nominee is confirmed. Powell can also stay in his separate position as a voting member of the board through January 2028. 

“I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality,” Powell told reporters on March 18.  

Tillis and Senate Republicans are otherwise supportive of Warsh. So if Pirro’s investigation ends, he may be quickly confirmed and could move to cut rates. If not, Powell could stay indefinitely. 

These two linked issues will come to a head next week. The Senate Banking Committee is set to hold a confirmation hearing for Warsh on April 16. The Trump administration is in effect forcing Tillis to prove his commitment to his principles. Tillis’ spokesman on…