For decades, Washington’s most powerful unelected officials have operated under a kind of unwritten immunity. They manage trillions of dollars, make decisions affecting every American household, and answer to virtually no one. When things go sideways—when budgets explode, or testimony proves questionable—the protected class circles the wagons, lawyers up, and waits for everyone to forget.
But every so often, accountability arrives uninvited, even at the most fortified doors in the capital. When it does, the responses tell us everything we need to know about who’s grown accustomed to life above scrutiny.
From Breitbart:
U.S. prosecutors have served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, Fed chairman Jerome Powell said in a video statement on Sunday night. The Fed received the subpoenas from the Justice Department on Friday, Powell said. He said federal prosecutors are threatening a criminal indictment relating to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part the Fed’s renovation of the central bank’s offices in Washington, D.C.
Powell claimed, without evidence, that the inquiries into the renovations and his congressional testimony were merely “pretexts” for political interference in monetary policy.
Classic Washington playbook: when in trouble, claim you’re being persecuted. Powell didn’t even wait 48 hours. But before Americans accept that narrative, they might want to consider his history—and ask what exactly he’s so desperate to protect.
A History of Opposition
Jerome Powell’s relationship with President Trump has been contentious from the start of Trump’s second term. Ironic, given that Trump originally nominated him to lead the Fed back in 2017. After Joe Biden reappointed him in 2021, Powell transformed into a persistent thorn in the administration’s side on economic policy.
Throughout 2025, Trump publicly called for interest rate cuts while Powell and the Fed moved at their own glacial pace. The president argued repeatedly that rates remained unnecessarily high and hampered economic growth. Powell resisted, wrapping himself in the Fed’s independence from political pressure.
Now facing a criminal inquiry, he immediately frames it as retaliation. How convenient.
President Trump, for his part, directly denied any involvement in or knowledge of the investigation. “I don’t know anything about it,” Trump told NBC News, adding that the inquiry had “nothing to do with his disagreement with Powell over the Fed’s monetary policy.”
Instead, Trump pointed to the actual subject of the probe: Powell’s competence. “He’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” the president observed.
What Is Powell Hiding?
The investigation centers on Powell’s congressional testimony about renovations to Federal Reserve headquarters—renovations that have ballooned to an estimated $2.5 billion. Trump has previously suggested the project should have cost around $50 million.
A 5,000 percent cost overrun. In the private sector, someone would be cleaning out their desk.
When prosecutors start asking questions about that kind of discrepancy, the appropriate response from a public servant is cooperation and transparency. Powell went a different route entirely: a slickly produced video painting himself as a martyr for central bank independence.
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell declared in his statement.
But nobody is investigating monetary policy decisions. They’re investigating what Powell told Congress about billions of dollars in construction costs. Those are two very different things.
Powell has also notably refused to confirm whether he’ll step down when his term as chairman ends in May. Outgoing chairs traditionally surrender their governor seats, but Powell’s term as a Fed governor doesn’t expire until January 2028. For someone claiming to be above political considerations, he seems remarkably determined to maintain his grip on power.
The Real Question
The chairman says no one is above the law. On that point, we agree completely.
If Powell testified truthfully before the Senate Banking Committee and the renovation costs are justified, the investigation will confirm that. If something else emerges, the American people deserve to know where their money went.
Accountability isn’t persecution—it’s what public servants should expect when entrusted with the nation’s finances. Powell’s sprint to the cameras tells us he knows exactly what’s at stake. The rest of us are just waiting to find out.
Key Takeaways
- The DOJ has served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas related to Powell’s Senate testimony about building renovations.
- President Trump explicitly denied any knowledge of or involvement in the criminal investigation.
- Fed renovation costs ballooned to $2.5 billion—Trump estimated the project should have cost $50 million.
- Powell’s immediate “political persecution” defense raises questions about what he may be hiding.
