In a joint letter, former Federal Reserve chairs called the accusation an “unprecedented attempt” to undermine the independence of the US central bank.
Posted on January 12, 2026
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski expressed support for fellow Republican Thom Tillis' plan to block President Donald Trump's Fed nominees after the Justice Department threatened over the weekend to charge Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
“There is too much at stake to look the other way: if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer,” Murkowski wrote in X on Monday.
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Murkowski is one of a small handful of Trump's fellow Republicans who have been willing to vote against his wishes at times in the U.S. Senate, where their party has a 53-47 majority.
Since returning to power last year, Trump has been increasingly publicly pressuring the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, breaking with a long-standing practice aimed at insulating the central bank from political pressure and allowing it to focus on economic data.
Alaska lawmaker Murkowski said she had spoken earlier Monday with Powell, who on Sunday said the U.S. central bank had received subpoenas last week that he called “pretexts” aimed at having the Fed base interest rates on policy rather than Trump's preferences.
Murkowski called the Justice Department's threat “nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” adding that Congress should investigate the department if it believes investigating the Federal Reserve for renewal cost overruns is warranted, which he called “not unusual.”
Hassett thinks
Powell's term ends in May, and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett has largely been seen as a possible pick to succeed him.
Hassett questioned Powell's testimony before Congress about the construction of the new Federal Reserve building, which is at the center of the Justice Department's investigation.
“Right now, we have a building that has dramatic cost overruns and plans for the buildings that seem inconsistent with the testimony, but again, I'm not a Department of Justice person. I hope everything works out for Jay,” Hassett told the CNBC news program Squawk Box.
Hassett later said he would support the investigation if he were in charge of the Federal Reserve, telling reporters that “it appears that the Justice Department has decided that it wants to see what's going on there with this building that is a hell of a lot more expensive than any building in the history of Washington.”
Trump, who has long pushed for more aggressive interest rate cuts, said in a post on his Truth Social platform in December: “America should be rewarded for its SUCCESS, not torn down for it. Anyone who disagrees with me will never be Chairman of the Federal Reserve!”
Former officials condemn investigation
The three latest heads of the US Federal Reserve on Monday joined other former federal government economic policy leaders in condemning the Trump administration's criminal investigation of the Fed chair, likening it to interference with central bank independence more often seen in emerging market countries with “weak institutions.”
“The criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence,” said a statement signed by former Fed chairs Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan.
“This is how monetary policy is formulated in emerging markets with weak institutions, with very negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies in general. It has no place in the United States, whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is the basis of our economic success.”
The three were joined by 10 other former top economic policy officials appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents.
