U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte called for a congressional investigation into Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, and for his removal from the position.
President Donald Trump has been rhetorically attacking Powell for many months over his refusal to lower interest rates, despite inflation nearing the limit that Powell had set for lowering rates. Powell has previously said that he will not step down as chair if the president asks.
‘All inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs. We didn’t overreact; in fact, we didn’t react at all.’
Pulte pointed to reports of the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to demand the investigation.
“I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed ‘for cause,’” Pulte said on social media.
“Jerome Powell’s $2.5B Building Renovation Scandal stinks to high heaven, and he lied when asked about the specifics before Congress. This is nothing short of malfeasance and is worthy of ‘for cause.’”
Pulte also accused Powell of lying when he denied some of the allegations about the renovation.
“All of the inflammatory things the media carried are not in the current plan,” Powell said. “There is no VIP dining room, no new marble, no special elevators. No new water features, no beehives and no roof terrace gardens.”
Powell has signaled that a rate drop might be in the future but asserted that the uncertainty surrounding the president’s tariffs policies have led to reticence from the Federal Reserve from acting too quickly.
“All inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs. We didn’t overreact; in fact, we didn’t react at all,” said Powell. “We’re simply taking some time. As long as the U.S. economy is in solid shape, we think the prudent thing to do is to wait and learn more, and see what those effects might be. They haven’t really shown up, so, for now, we’re waiting.”
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Critics of the president say that the Federal Reserve was instituted as an independent entity in order to prevent political considerations from biasing monetary policies. Supporters of the president say Powell and other Fed bank presidents are already politically biased.
The Fed is composed of 12 regional banks, each with their own president, and sets monetary policy. Its mission is to guide interest rates in order to avoid major job losses on one hand while also preventing high inflation on the other.
Powell was appointed as Fed chairman by Trump in his first term.
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