DOJ drops Powell probe

The Justice Department has dropped its criminal probe of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ending a standoff that had tangled the succession at the central bank. (cnbc.com) (apnews.com) U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said April 24 that her office was closing the investigation into Powell and the Federal Reserve over cost overruns tied to the multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters. She said the Fed’s inspector general had been asked to review the overruns instead. (cnbc.com) (nbcnews.com) Pirro added that she would “not hesitate” to restart a criminal investigation if new facts warrant one. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the matter was “not necessarily dropped” so much as moved under a different authority. (nbcnews.com) (deseret.com) The immediate effect is in the Senate. CNBC, NBC News and Politico reported that Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, had effectively blocked a floor vote on Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Powell, while the criminal probe was still active. (cnbc.com) (nbcnews.com) (politico.com) Warsh testified before the Senate Banking Committee three days before Pirro’s announcement. After the probe ended, multiple outlets reported the decision likely cleared a major procedural hurdle to his confirmation. (cnbc.com) (apnews.com) The probe itself had already been faltering in court. CNBC and ABC News reported that in March a Justice Department prosecutor acknowledged the government had not found evidence of a crime, and a federal judge quashed subpoenas issued to the Fed. (cnbc.com) (abcnews.com) The renovation project has been under scrutiny for months, but the Fed’s inspector general had already been reviewing it since 2025, according to NBC News, and CNBC reported Powell had pointed to that existing review as the proper channel for oversight. (nbcnews.com) (cnbc.com) Powell’s term was nearing its end as the legal fight escalated, which turned the investigation into a political issue as much as a criminal one. Bloomberg reported the reversal narrows one line of pressure on Powell but does not settle the broader struggle over who controls the Fed’s direction. (bloomberg.com) For now, Powell loses one immediate legal threat, and Warsh gains a clearer path to a Senate vote. The larger fight over interest-rate policy and Federal Reserve independence remains in place. (apnews.com) (bloomberg.com)