Trump's Trials - Fed chair becomes latest target of Trump's weaponized DOJ

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

The investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is the latest example of the Trump administration weaponizing the Department of Justice to go after the president's perceived foes.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow and you're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. We're under invasion from within. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. The golden age of America is upon us. We are in the golden age. Each episode, we bring you the latest news about the 47th president and the policy changes he is pursuing on his own terms.

We know from experience that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against set ideas about what the federal government can and can't do. It all raises questions about how much Washington and the country will change over the course of this term. NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear right after this. You're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. I'm Michelle Martin. Since his return to office, President Trump, has repeatedly lashed out at the Federal Reserve chairman whom he appointed Jerome Powell. He's called him names and hit it firing him all.

trying to pressure the central bank to lower interest rates. Over the weekend, Powell announced that he was under investigation by the Justice Department. Critics call this just the latest example of Trump using the law enforcement agency to serve his political agenda. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas has been following the story. He's with us now to tell us more about it. Good morning. Good morning. So let's start with Powell. What do we know about the investigation? Well, Paul said in a video statement late Sunday that the Fed had received grand jury subpoenas related to his congressional testimony about renovations to the central bank's headquarters. Paul said the renovations are just a pretext for this investigation. He said what this is really about is the president and his administration trying to

dictate interest rates instead of the Fed setting them based on its own independent assessment. In other words, Paul says this is political pressure, it's intimidation to try to bend the Fed to the president's will. Has the Justice Department or has the president said anything about the Powell investigation? Well, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Janine Pier, last night said in a post on social media that her office contacted the Fed several times to try to talk about cost overruns but were ignored. So she said they had to issue subpoenas. She said it's not a threat and that her office makes decisions based only on the merits. Trump, for his part, he told NBC News that he was not aware of this investigation. And what about in Congress? Any reaction there?

Well, it's interesting. The reaction hasn't cut cleanly along party lines in Congress. Yes, we have seen Democrats sharply criticize this. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, who's the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. He slammed the same. investigation, he said Trump wants to, quote, weaponize every tool of government against perceived opponents, end quote, and he said the Justice Department is doing exactly that. More notable, though, is that some Republicans are also pushing back on this Powell investigation and raising questions about the Justice Department. North Carolina's Tom Tillis, for example, he said that this is a clear push to end the Fed's independence. He said it's now the independence and credibility of the

Justice Department that are in question. Alaska's Lisa Murkowski called the investigation coercion that's her word. And she said Congress needs to investigate the Justice Department if the department thinks a criminal investigation over renovation costs overruns is really merited. So there are clearly concerns from some Republicans about the Justice Department's actions here. And on this question of how the Powell investigation fits into how the Justice Department is operating in Trump's second term, it seems that a number of people have thoughts about that. All right. There's really a question about the perceived weaponization or politicization of the department under attorney general Pam Bondi. There is

certainly a growing list of individuals who have been critics or at odds with Trump who have found themselves under investigation by the Justice Department. Two obvious examples here are former FBI Director James Comey in New York State Attorney General Letitia James. They were both indicted by an acting U.S. attorney who was handpicked by Trump. Both of those cases were ultimately tossed by a federal judge who found the prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department, though, is also investigating California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, another prominent Trump critic. Also, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who Trump tried to fire last year. here, she is also separately under Justice Department investigation.

That is not even an exhaustive list. So Powell is joining an already lengthy list of high-profile folks who are either Trump critics or who appear to stand in the way of his agenda who are facing a Justice Department investigation. That is NPR Justice correspondent. Ryan Lucas, Ryan, thank you. Thank you. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's podcast, where you can hear NPR's

political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.