Scott Bessent Floats Senate Banking Committee Probe of Jerome Powell As a substitute of DOJ Investigation
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is signaling that if there is to be an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, it should come from Congress rather than the Justice Department.
According to exclusive reporting from Semafor, Bessent raised in a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans the idea that the Senate Banking Committee could investigate Powell rather than leaving the matter to federal prosecutors.
“In a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed that the Senate Banking Committee could investigate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — instead of the Justice Department — people in the room told Semafor.”
This is not a minor procedural debate. It is a fight over whether scrutiny of the Federal Reserve is framed as a criminal matter or as congressional oversight, and that distinction carries real political and constitutional weight.
The proposal intersects directly with an ongoing standoff involving Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has said he will not advance Federal Reserve nominees while the DOJ investigation remains active.
According to lawmakers cited in the report, some Republicans viewed Bessent’s suggestion as a possible off-ramp.
“They’re trying to dangle this in front of Thom to see if he’ll accept it,” one lawmaker said. “Thom, he was poker-face.”
In other words, this is as much about unlocking nominations as it is about renovation invoices.
The investigation centers on Powell’s testimony last year about the Federal Reserve’s renovation project. The Fed’s inspector general is already reviewing the cost overruns, which makes the DOJ’s criminal probe stand out even more.
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Other reports indicate that Bessent has conveyed his concerns directly to President Donald Trump that the Justice Department investigation is creating an unnecessary distraction. Those sources described the secretary as not defending Powell personally, but expressing concern about institutional fallout.
As one Republican member of Congress put it in discussions surrounding the proposal:
“What the president wants is an investigation,” and hopefully, “the Banking Committee will satisfy that desire for an investigation.”
That comment underscores the balancing act inside the GOP. Lawmakers appear to be seeking a path that preserves scrutiny of Powell while avoiding a prolonged clash between the White House and the central bank over a criminal probe.
Trump, however, has taken a far more direct approach in his public criticism of Powell, focusing squarely on the renovation cost overruns and management questions.
“He’s billions of dollars over budget. So, either he’s incompetent or he’s crooked. I don’t know what he is. But certainly, he doesn’t do a very good job.”
Here is the core issue: jurisdiction and power.
A DOJ probe carries criminal implications and escalates tensions between the executive branch and the central bank. A Senate Banking Committee review would frame the matter as a matter of legislative oversight. The Federal Reserve may operate independently in monetary policy, but it remains a statutory entity created by Congress.
The fight is no longer about whether Powell is scrutinized. It is about who wields that power, federal prosecutors or elected lawmakers, and what that choice signals about control over one of the most powerful institutions in the federal government.
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