Two Republican senators denounced the criminal investigation of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, with one calling for congressional oversight over the Justice Department.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Banking Committee, registered his immediate condemnation on Monday evening.
“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 wrote in a statement. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”
“I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved,” he added.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski subsequently met with Powell and said in a statement that it’s “clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion.”
“If the Department of Justice believes an investigation into Chair Powell is warranted based on project cost overruns—which are not unusual—then Congress needs to investigate the Department of Justice,” Murkowski said. “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. My colleague, Senator Tillis, is right in blocking any Federal Reserve nominees until this is resolved.”
In a 40-minute conversation, Legal AF’s Michael Popok and I discussed the fallout on Capitol Hill and how Powell’s extraordinary public announcement about the investigation may play before the Supreme Court next week.
Watch our conversation in full in the video at the top of this newsletter.
