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The Trump administration has dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which will pave the way for Trump\u2019s nominee Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n
The investigation centered on the cost of renovations at the Washington, D.C., offices of the Federal Reserve, and whether Powell lied to Congress about it. The project was expected to cost about $1.9 billion, but the number ended up closer to $2.5 billion, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis morning the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns \u2013 in the billions of dollars \u2013 that have been borne by taxpayers,\u201d Jeanine Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement posted to X on Friday morning.<\/p>\n She added that the inspector general is being asked to provide a report \u201cin short order\u201d to ensure that it will answering \u201cthe questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAccordingly, 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,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n Critics of the investigation said that it risked the independence of the Federal Reserve\u2014as Trump has been a staunch critic of Powell over interest rates. The president has repeatedly demanded the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates much more aggressively.<\/p>\n The decision to end the probe could satisfy an ultimatum from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a Trump critic, to move Warsh\u2019s nomination out of the Senate Banking Committee.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have extraordinary credentials. They\u2019re impeccable,\u201d Tillis said at a committee hearing with Warsh earlier this week, according to The Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tillis bluntly stated over X that Warsh \u201cis a great nominee to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and I look forward to supporting him out of committee once the DOJ drops their bogus investigation into Chairman Powell that threatens the independence of the Fed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n