President Trump slams Fed Chairman Jerome Powell over economic comments
President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following Trump’s comments about tariffs and their impact on the economy.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday, January 11, that the Trump administration has threatened him with criminal charges and served a grand jury subpoena over his congressional testimony last summer about the Fed’s plans to renovate the Fed building. Powell called the action a “pretext” aimed at putting more pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates.
“On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with a grand jury subpoena and threatened criminal charges in connection with my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June,” Powell said in a statement Sunday, calling it a dramatic escalation in his dispute with Donald Trump dating back to Powell’s first years as chairman in 2018.
“I deeply respect the rule of law and accountability in a democracy, and everyone is above the law, except the Fed Chairman,” Powell said in a brief statement released by the Fed late Sunday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Powell.
(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphier; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Tom Hogue)
