Prosecutors sought access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens
to fire Powell
[April 16, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this
week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the
focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project,
according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s
office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred
to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with
the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t
authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.
The visit underscores that the Trump administration is not backing down
from its investigation of the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, even
though the probe has delayed the confirmation of a new chair nominated
by President Donald Trump. The investigation is focused on cost overruns
and brief testimony about the project last summer by Powell. Trump
confirmed in an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox Business that he
wants to continue the probe.
Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a top
deputy from Pirro’s office conceded that they hadn’t found any evidence
of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.
Robert Hur, an attorney for the Federal Reserve board of governors, sent
an email to Pirro’s prosecutors about their visit and their request for
a “tour” to “check on progress” at the construction site. Hur’s email,
which The Associated Press has viewed, noted that U.S. District Judge
James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve’s
renovation project was “pretextual.”
“Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue
for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,” Hur
wrote.
Republican Tillis is key vote
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is a key member of the
Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to vote against Kevin Warsh, Trump's
nominee to replace Powell as Fed chair, until the investigation is
dropped. With the committee closely divided on partisan lines, Tillis'
opposition is enough to block Warsh from receiving the committee's
approval.
Tillis on Wednesday criticized the investigation as “bogus, ill-timed,
ill-informed” and repeated that seven Republican members of the banking
panel have said they do not believe Powell committed a crime when he
testified last June.
Tillis also said there aren’t enough votes on the committee or in the
broader Senate to do an end-run around the committee and get Warsh
confirmed some other way.
“There really is no path,” he told reporters, adding that Pirro and her
aides were “asleep at the switch” because the investigation has
essentially delayed Powell's departure from the Fed, despite Trump's
obsessive criticism of the Fed chair. Powell has now said he won't leave
until the investigation is resolved.
Tillis suggested Pirro blindsided the White House with her
investigation. “They should have consulted with the White House, because
I’m sure if they would have, (the White House) would have said, ‘no, we
can wait,'” until Powell steps down.
But Kevin Hassett, the Trump administration's top economist, said
Wednesday that the Justice Department got involved because “the
president wanted to investigate the cost overrun,” Axios reported.
The Banking panel said Tuesday that it will hold a hearing on Warsh's
nomination April 21. Powell's term as Fed chair ends May 15, but Powell
said last month he would remain as chair until a replacement is named.
Powell is serving a separate term as a member of the Fed's governing
board that lasts until January 2028. Chairs typically leave the board
when their terms as chair end, but they can remain on the board if they
choose. Powell has said he won't leave until the investigation is
resolved. If he remains it would deny Trump the opportunity to appoint
someone else to the seven-member board.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, right, and President
Donald Trump look over a document of cost figures during a visit to
the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
Late Tuesday Tillis posted a link on social media to The Wall Street
Journal’s article on the visit below an image of the Three Stooges
and wrote, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene.”
Investigation centers on building renovations
The investigation centers on an appearance by Powell before the
Banking Committee last June, when he was asked about cost overruns
on the renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest
the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million
higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.
“It is probably corrupt, but what it really is, is incompetent,”
Trump said. “Don't you think we have to find out what happened
there?”
The president's support for the investigation threatens a timeframe
set out by Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who chairs
the Banking Committee. Scott said Tuesday on Fox Business that he
believed the investigation would be “wrapped up in the next few
weeks,” allowing Warsh to be confirmed soon after.
Threat to fire Powell
News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump has
again threatened to fire Powell, if the Federal Reserve Chair
decides to stay on the central bank's governing board after his term
as chair expires next month.
“Well then I’ll have to fire him, OK?” Trump said.
Trump has for months wanted to remove Powell, saying he has been too
slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S.
economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a
pretext to undermine the Fed's independence to set rates.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said Trump can only fire
Powell “for cause,” meaning some kind of misconduct, “so that's a
pretty tall order.”
Supreme Court weighing another Trump removal
Trump’s threat to fire Powell comes as the Supreme Court is weighing
the president’s effort to remove another central bank governor, Lisa
Cook. Lower courts have so far allowed Cook to remain in her job
while her legal challenge to the firing continues. The Supreme Court
also seemed likely to keep her on the Fed when the court heard
arguments in January. A decision could come any time.
The issue in Cook’s case is whether allegations of mortgage fraud,
which she has denied, is a sufficient reason to fire her or a mere
pretext masking Trump’s desire to exert more control over U.S.
interest rate policy.
The Supreme Court has allowed the firings of the heads of other
governmental agencies at the president’s discretion, with no claim
that they did anything wrong, while also signaling that it is
approaching the independence of the nation’s central bank more
cautiously, calling the Fed “a uniquely structured, quasi-private
entity.”
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AP Writers Seung Min Kim, Mark Sherman, Paul Wiseman, Alanna Durkin
Richer, and video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this
report.
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