How Jerome Powell Thwarted MAGA Lawfare
The Dispatch • • business
Key Points:
- The U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas related to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s June 2025 congressional testimony about Fed building renovations, raising the threat of criminal indictment, but Powell quickly countered with a public statement and private calls to key senators.
- Powell’s public response framed the investigation as politically motivated pressure from the administration to influence Fed interest rate policy, while privately securing support from influential Republican senators like Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.
- Senator Thom Tillis publicly condemned the Trump administration’s actions and threatened to block any Fed nominee confirmations until the legal matter was resolved, effectively stalling potential moves against Powell.
- A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs, treasury secretaries, and economists criticized the investigation as an unprecedented attack on
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