Trump’s DOJ drops probe that stood in way of president’s pick to run Federal Reserve
The Justice Department passed an investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell to the Fed’s own inspector, which could clear a confirmation path for Kevin Warsh.
What to know:
- The U.S. Department of Justice may have stepped aside in its controversial criminal pursuit of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in time to get President Donald Trump’s nominee confirmed to replace him.
- Nominee Kevin Wash had otherwise faced an impediment to getting the Senate nod to take over, because Republican Senator Thom Tillis had said he wouldn’t allow Warsh’s confirmation until the DOJ dropped the “bogus investigation.”
Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh, whose own considerable wealth includes some crypto-world assets, is awaiting a final vote from the Senate after appearing in a confirmation hearing this week. Trump, who has relentlessly blamed Powell for maintaining overly high U.S. interest rates, chose Warsh to remedy that, but Republican Senator Thom Tillis had promised to block the confirmation as long as the DOJ pressed an investigation against Powell for cost overruns in a Fed building project.
That criminal probe was dropped on Friday, and Attorney General Jeanine Pirro said the DOJ asked the Fed’s inspector general to look into the renovation situation and issue a report. When the news emerged, Kalshi’s prediction betting on Walsh’s confirmation before May 15 shot up from about 30% odds to more than 80%.
“I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas,” Pirro wrote in a post on social media site X. “Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry. Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.”
