White House Expects 'Swift' Warsh Confirmation After DOJ Drops Powell Criminal Probe
Update (1050ET): The White House is now expecting 'swift' confirmation of Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh after the DOJ dropped its criminal probe into current Chair Jerome Powell over the Fed's building construction project.
On Tuesday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) made clear that he would block Warsh's nomination unless the Powell inquiry was dropped.
Thom Tillis still refuses to blame Trump for anything: "The problem I have is that some US attorney or assistant US attorney with a dream thought it would be cute to bring Chair Powell under an investigation ... the boss said he didn't know anything about it" pic.twitter.com/WhBawG82bZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 21, 2026
To that end...
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The Department of Justice is dropping its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ending a standoff that threatened to delay the confirmation of Powell's successor at the central bank
In a post on X, US Attorney General for DC Jeanine Pirro said she is directing her office to close its investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as the inspector general for the agency has been asked to scrutinize its building construction project costs,
This morning the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns – in the billions of dollars – that have been borne by taxpayers.
— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) April 24, 2026
The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers. I…
Pirro initiated a legal battle to serve subpoenas to the central bank as part of a criminal investigation into the cost overruns and congressional testimony Chair Jerome Powell provided on the matter. In March, "Nevertrump" Judge James Boasberg quashed two grand jury subpoenas that Pirro’s office served in January.
The ongoing legal battle has pitted the independence of the Fed against the Justice Department’s power to carry out investigations.
The investigation had thrown the Fed’s expected leadership transition into chaos. Powell’s term as chair is scheduled to expire on May 15, and President Donald Trump has nominated former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to replace him.
Warsh, who appeared before the Senate Banking Committee this week, enjoys broad support among GOP lawmakers, but a key Republican senator, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, vowed to block his confirmation unless the DOJ investigation was dropped.
According to ABC, senior DOJ officials had contacted senators in recent days, including Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, informing them of the plan to drop the probe and refer the matter regarding alleged cost overruns at the Fed's Washington headquarters to the bank's internal watchdog, the sources said.
The Fed's independent inspector general conducted an audit of the building renovation costs in 2021 and Powell had already asked the watchdog to take a fresh look at the $2.5 billion project last year.
Powell's term ends next month, but he said in March that he would stay in the position until President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Fed, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed. Which is also the reason why the DOJ decided to drop its case as the last thing Trump needed was more confusion over when Warsh would take over.
A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve declined to comment. Reached by ABC News, a spokesperson for Tillis declined to comment.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.