For Republican lawmakers who usually move in lockstep with President Donald Trump, the Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is quickly becoming an unexpected loyalty test, with many of them expressing discomfort with the move and some vowing to make it difficult to replace Powell.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina — a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs — wasn’t concerned about Powell committing any potential impropriety by not accurately predicting the costs of Federal Reserve building renovations, as the Justice Department is investigating. Instead, Tillis said, it was “the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”
“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,” Tillis said.
While the unease many Republicans are expressing is notable on its own, Tillis and some other GOP lawmakers are taking their discomfort a step further.
Tillis, who’s retiring at the end of 2026, said he would vote against any Federal Reserve nominee “until this legal matter is fully resolved” — including the looming vacancy of the chair, which will be up for grabs when Powell’s term atop the central bank expires in May.
The Senate Banking Committee is composed of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, meaning that if Tillis follows through with his ultimatum and joins all Democrats to oppose the next nominee, the panel would be deadlocked — holding up any Trump pick for the influential governing body.
And Tillis isn’t alone.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called the Justice Department’s probe “nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” adding that Tillis was “right in blocking any Federal Reserve nominees until this is resolved.”
“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,” Murkowski said in a statement.
Other Republicans expressed similar displeasure with the DOJ’s subpoenas and the potential impact on the independence of the Fed, but none took the same hard-line stance as Tillis.
For instance, Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he does “not believe” Powell “is a criminal,” but he added that he is a “bad Fed chair.”
“I hope this criminal investigation can be put to rest quickly, along with the remainder of Jerome Powell’s term,” Cramer said.
But when asked what action he might take to push back on the investigation, which he said he’s “not crazy for,” Cramer said he didn’t plan “to get super involved.”
“There are three branches of government, and that’s not mine,” he said.
It was a similar story with many other Republicans. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said he’d “like to see this resolved as quickly as possible,” adding that it’s important for the Fed to remain “free of political influence.” But he didn’t say what he might do to ensure those things happen.
Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said he didn’t think Powell was “guilty of criminal activity.” But he also didn’t call out Trump, and he didn’t say he’d do anything to address this criminal probe.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., another member of the Senate Banking Committee, seemed to take issue with the investigation, but he suggested his concern was that contrary to the president’s wishes, the grand jury subpoenas might increase interest rates.
“If you wanted to design a system to cause interest rates to go up and not down, you would have the Federal Reserve of the United States and the executive branch of the United States get into a pissing contest. We don’t need it,” Kennedy said. “We need it like we need a hole in our head.”
“Everybody needs to take their meds and step back a little bit,” he added.
Still, other Republicans tried to avoid weighing in at all — or simply deferred to the Department of Justice.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he didn’t know enough to comment. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he didn’t know “enough about the facts.” And Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., concluded that if the DOJ was taking this step, “there’s got to be a legal reason for it, and so I think we just let it play out.”
The GOP pushback began shortly after The New York Times reported Sunday that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into Powell, a frequent target of Trump’s ire over interest rates, which the Fed has been lowering slowly. For months, the president has publicly been putting pressure on the central bank chair to bring down borrowing rates, flirting with outright firing him — an unprecedented move.
The Fed has lowered interest rates three times during Trump’s second term, the most recently in December. But Trump is concerned that Powell isn’t bringing rates down faster and by more.
Ostensibly, the investigation is a probe into whether Powell lied to Congress when he testified about the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The project, which first received approval in 2017, seeks to revamp two buildings that, according to the central bank, have not been renovated since the 1930s.
Trump has railed against the project, blasting it as too expensive. But Trump appointees on the project review board have pushed for more marble in the building than glass, a key reason there have been cost overruns. In the eyes of many lawmakers, however, the investigation is a political effort by the administration to press Powell into bringing down interest rates. They say it runs the risk of blowing up the independence that has been a cornerstone of the Fed. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Fed, called the pursuit of charges against Powell — whom he labeled “a man of integrity” — to be “an unnecessary distraction.” “The Federal Reserve is led by strong, capable individuals appointed by President Trump, and this action could undermine this and future administrations’ ability to make sound monetary policy decisions,” Hill said. Powell, for his part, has said as much. In a video statement published Sunday, the chair confirmed the investigation and rejected the idea that it was based on the renovation. “Those are pretexts,” Powell said. “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.” Democrats naturally agree. In remarks on the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the accusations against Powell “clearly bogus.” “Anyone with two eyes and half a brain knows exactly what this criminal probe represents: a brazen attempt by Donald Trump to cannibalize the Fed’s independence,” Schumer said. “This has nothing to do with building renovations, of all things,” he continued. “It has everything to do with Donald Trump weaponizing the DOJ into his attack dog and bullying America’s central bank into submission, on something unrelated to what they do.” Meanwhile, as some Republicans express rare disagreement with Trump, GOP leaders are staying on the sidelines. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he wanted to “let the investigation play out,” urging individuals to “reserve judgment.” But when asked if he believed the probe compromised the credibility and independence of the Justice Department, he had an unreserved response: “Of course not.” “They’re doing their job,” Johnson said. “I mean, if the investigation is warranted, then they have to play that out. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. The allegation is serious, so we’ll see.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he hadn’t reviewed the charges but added that the allegations “better be real, and they’d better be serious.” “Independence and shaping monetary policy in the country is something that we need to ensure proceeds without political interference,” Thune said, adding that “hopefully” the DOJ would deal with its investigation and resolve it “quickly.” Syedah Asghar and Jack Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
