Powell probe over Fed HQ renovation should continue

President Donald Trump on Monday said a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should continue, shrugging off a Republican senator’s vow to block Trump’s Fed chair replacement pick unless the probe is dropped.

U.S. Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the unprecedented probe of the central bank chairman, should “take it to the end and see,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The president had been asked if Pirro ought to abandon her efforts in light of Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declaring on Friday that he will oppose any new Fed nominee until the Powell investigation is fully resolved.

Tillis drew that line in the sand on the same day that Trump, after a monthslong audition process, announced Kevin Warsh as his pick to succeed Powell as Fed chair.

Tillis is a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which has 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. If Tillis sides with all Democrats on the panel in opposing Warsh, he could set up a stalemate that would prevent the nominee from advancing to a full Senate vote.

Powell had revealed on Jan. 11 that he was under criminal investigation.

That announcement came after months of Trump and his allies regularly slamming Powell over his refusal to lower interest rates as quickly or steeply as the president wants.

Powell accused the administration of threatening him with prosecution because the Fed, despite Trump’s pressure, has made its rate-setting decisions “based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”

CNBC reported Wednesday that the Fed has not yet complied with grand jury subpoenas issued as part of Pirro’s probe.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that the yearslong, multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters involves either incompetence or corruption by Powell.

“It’s either gross incompetence or it’s theft of some kind, kickbacks. I don’t know what it is,” Trump said in Monday’s Oval Office remarks.

“But Jeanine Pirro is incredible, and she’ll figure it out,” he added.

The Fed has defended the renovation efforts, saying they will reduce costs for the central bank over time, and sought to explain cost increases. Powell’s term ends in May.