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jerome powell
In Dead of Night, Senate GOP Schedules Vote on Trump Fed Pick
"No Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should support moving forward the nomination of Kevin Warsh," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Apr 25, 2026
In the late hours of Friday night, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee scheduled a vote to advance President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, shortly after the Justice Department announced it was dropping its criminal probe into the current head of the central bank, Jerome Powell.
The committee vote will take place on April 29, putting megarich financier Kevin Warsh on track for full Senate confirmation by the time Powell's term as Fed chair ends on May 15. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the banking panel, said in a statement early Saturday morning that "either the Republican majority is fooled easily or they are hoping to fool the American people," arguing that the Justice Department only agreed to drop its widely condemned probe of Powell—for now, at least—to clear the way for Warsh's confirmation.
"The Department of Justice threatened to restart the investigation into Fed Chair Powell at any time while continuing its probe against Gov. Lisa Cook," said Warren. The senator pointed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's remark on Friday that the investigation into Powell "is not necessarily dropped, it's just being moved over to the inspector general."
The probe into the Fed's building renovations produced no evidence of a crime and was seen as a politically motivated attack on Powell, whom Trump has targeted repeatedly for not supporting the president's desired monetary policy. Trump originally nominated Powell to lead the central bank in 2017.
Warren said Saturday that "no Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should support moving forward the nomination of Kevin Warsh, who proved in his nomination hearing to be nothing more than President Trump’s sock puppet.”
While the DOJ investigation into Powell was ongoing, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)—a banking committee member—put a hold on Warsh's confirmation. As of this writing, Tillis has yet to indicate he is satisfied with federal prosecutors' announcement of an end to the Powell investigation.
Warren and other critics see Warsh as someone who would bow to Trump's influence at the Federal Reserve. During his confirmation hearing, Warsh declined to say whether Trump lost the 2020 election, which the president still falsely claims was stolen.
"He argues he's going to be an independent Fed chair, but refuses to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election," said economist Justin Wolfers. "If you can't state simple facts when you're in the political spotlight, you aren't independent. You're a coward."
Observers have also raised concerns about Warsh's financial disclosures—or lack thereof. In recent Senate filings, Warsh disclosed owning assets worth between around $135 million and $226 million, but he did not provide specific details about more than $100 million in holdings, citing confidentiality agreements.
Warren told reporters earlier this month that after meeting with Warsh, she spoke with "the White House briefer on the FBI investigation into Mr. Warsh’s background."
"And what I can say about that report," said Warren, "is that I was told that the FBI made zero investigation into any of Mr. Warsh’s financial holdings, including those that he is refusing to disclose, and that they made zero investigation as to why [Warsh] appears in the publicly available Epstein files and whether he appears in other files that have not been made public.”
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Warren Says DOJ Dropped Powell Probe to Secure Installation of Trump 'Sock Puppet' as Fed Chair
"Anyone who believes Donald Trump’s corrupt scheme to take over the Fed is over is fooling themselves."
Apr 24, 2026
The Justice Department on Friday dropped its criminal investigation into US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned in response that the threat to the central bank's independence is far from over.
Shortly after US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced on that her office was abandoning its months-long investigation of Powell for now, Warren released a statement cautioning that the end of the widely condemned probe didn't mean an end to President Donald Trump's efforts to take over the Federal Reserve.
Warren pointed out that while Pirro was no longer investigating Powell, the Justice Department is still investigating Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, whom Trump has unsuccessfully tried to fire.
"Let’s be clear what the Justice Department announced today," said Warren. "They threatened to restart the bogus criminal investigation into Fed Chair Powell at any time while failing to drop their ridiculous criminal probe against Governor Cook. Anyone who believes Donald Trump’s corrupt scheme to take over the Fed is over is fooling themselves."
Warren concluded by saying that the US Senate should not move forward with the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, a financier whom Trump nominated to be Powell's replacement.
“This is just an attempt to clear the path for Senate Republicans to install President Trump’s sock puppet Kevin Warsh as Fed chair," the Massachusetts senator said.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) echoed Warren's criticisms, and said that dropping the Powell investigation wasn't enough to make him believe the president had given up on his quest to control US monetary policy.
"Trump wants a Fed chair that will do his bidding," wrote Kim. "He'll drop the bogus investigation into Powell but not Lisa Cook because it clears the path for Senate Republicans to confirm Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick for Fed chair. You deserve a Fed that works for you, not Donald Trump."
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also called foul on the Trump DOJ's machinations, writing in a social media post that the entire investigation into Powell "was just a political tactic and had nothing to do with evidence of a crime."
"The White House is using criminal prosecutions to free up spots on the Federal Reserve Board so the President can manipulate the money supply to cover up for his disastrous economic policies," the House Judiciary Democrats wrote. "And US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is content to abuse the grand jury process to attack Trump's chosen political targets."
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers delivered a warning for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who had vowed to hold up Warsh's confirmation until the probe of Powell was dropped, to resist the temptation to believe the investigation's end meant the crisis was over.
"While I admired Tillis' stand for Fed independence, this was always the problem with his strategy," Wolfers explained. "The president can meet Tillis' threshold of promising not to jail this end-of-term Fed chair, but he's kept open the option of threatening to jail the next one. The threats will continue unless the Senate refuses to confirm any nominee without clear legislation outlawing it. Congress has a role to play."
While Pirro is no longer investigating Powell, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this didn't mean the probe had ended, but had been transferred to the Federal Reserve inspector general.
"The case is not necessarily dropped, it's just being moved over to the inspector general," Leavitt told reporters. "This has been a priority for the president. The investigation still continues."
LOL -- Leavitt says the Powell investigation actually isn't over
"The case is not necessarily dropped, it's just being moved over to the inspector general. This has been a priority for the president. The investigation still continues." pic.twitter.com/LW4jeKzY9p
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 24, 2026
This prompted Warren to reiterate that the Senate should not move forward with any vote to confirm Warsh as Federal Reserve chairman.
"Trump's spokeswoman says the witch hunt against Jerome Powell 'still continues,'" Warren wrote. "No Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should move Warsh’s nomination forward."
Trump for the last year has publicly attacked Powell for not aggressively cutting interest rates. Powell, who was nominated by Trump to be chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2017, has refused to cave into the president's pressure campaign, and has pointed to the Trump administration's own policies—in particular its global tariffs on imported products—as putting upward pressure on inflation.
Powell's term as chairman expires on May 15.
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Powell Gives Extraordinary Show of Support to Fed Governor Targeted by Trump
The president is trying to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud. Critics say he's targeting another one of his political foes.
Jan 19, 2026
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reportedly plans to attend Wednesday's US Supreme Court oral arguments in the case involving President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook.
A "person familiar with the matter" told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Powell would attend the high court session in the face of Trump's unprecedented effort to oust one of the seven members of the Fed's governing board.
Last August, Trump announced his termination of Cook—an appointee of former President Joe Biden—for alleged fraud, accusing her of signing two primary residence mortgages within weeks of each other. An investigation published last month by ProPublica revealed that Trump did the same thing that he's accusing Cook of doing.
Cook denies any wrongdoing, has not been charged with any crime, and has filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to fire her. In October, the Supreme Court declined to immediately remove Cook and agreed to hear oral arguments in the case.
In what many critics allege is an attempt by Trump to strong-arm the Fed into further interest rate cuts, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this month served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas related to Powell's congressional testimony on renovations to Fed headquarters in Washington, DC.
Powell—who was nominated by Trump in 2017 and whose four-year term as Fed chair ends May 15—responded by alleging that “the threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president."
"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," he added.
Trump is trying to install his puppets at the Fed.First by trying to fire Lisa Cook and rushing in his top econ adviser.Now by abusing the law to try to push Jerome Powell out for good.Next he'll nominate a new Chair—and Trump says “anybody that disagrees" with him is out.
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— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) January 15, 2026 at 7:54 AM
In addition to Cook, Trump has targeted a number of Democrats with what critics say are dubious mortgage fraud claims.
Last November, a federal judge dismissed a DOJ criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was charged with bank fraud and false statements regarding a property in Virginia. Critics called the charges against James—who successfully prosecuted Trump for financial crimes—baseless and politically motivated. A federal grand jury subsequently rejected another administration attempt to indict James.
The president has accused other political foes, including US Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell—both California Democrats who played key roles in both of the president’s House impeachments—of similar fraud. Swalwell is currently under formal criminal investigation. Both lawmakers deny the allegations.
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