The Department of Justice has launched a jaw-dropping inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — and it’s already blowing back hard, even from Republicans.
In what critics see as political theater masquerading as law enforcement, at least three GOP senators have publicly rebuked the DOJ’s move, warning that targeting Powell risks undermining economic stability and shredding the Federal Reserve’s independence. For lawmakers who usually close ranks, the backlash has been unusually blunt.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski was among the most outspoken, condemning the probe as coercive and inappropriate. She went so far as to call for congressional scrutiny of the Justice Department itself — a striking rebuke coming from a member of the president’s own party.
The underlying issue is not a major scandal or financial crime. Instead, the DOJ’s interest centers on renovation costs at the Federal Reserve — a bureaucratic dispute that was already politically charged and has now escalated into open conflict between federal prosecutors and one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world.
Powell, typically a low-profile technocrat, has forcefully rejected the accusations. He has explicitly refuted rhetoric from Trump allies suggesting impropriety, denying claims that he misled Congress or mishandled the renovation project. Rather than calming tensions, that pushback appears to have intensified them.
Republicans critical of the probe argue that the DOJ is overreaching, effectively weaponizing its investigative authority in a way that could rattle markets and erode confidence in the central bank’s ability to operate independently of the White House. The concern isn’t just about Powell — it’s about precedent.
Even in a GOP fractured by legal battles and culture-war skirmishes, the reaction has been unusually unified. The senators’ message is unmistakable: deploying federal prosecutors against a sitting Fed chair looks less like justice and more like political brinkmanship.
The alarm isn’t limited to Capitol Hill. Conservative media outlets have also turned sharply critical. In a scathing editorial titled “Lawfare for Dummies, Monetary Edition,” The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board blasted the DOJ’s decision to criminally investigate Powell.
“President Trump would do himself and the country a big favor by firing those responsible for this fiasco,” the editorial reads.
The Journal cited its own reporting that Bill Pulte of the Federal Housing Finance Agency played a key role in efforts targeting Powell, while also suggesting that Attorney General Pam Bondi likely approved subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve on Friday.
“Mr. Trump needs to call time on this self-defeating scheme, with a message to Ms. Bondi to halt the legal harassment,” the editorial states. “Firing Mr. Pulte before he can cause any more embarrassment would also help.”
