The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is only “temporarily suspended,” two Democratic senators said in a letter sent to the department on Friday and first obtained by CNBC.
“Your announcement leaves wide open the possibility that you may reopen a criminal investigation into Chairman Powell, or any future baseless investigation into him, other Fed directors, or future Fed chairmen,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Dick Durbin (Illinois) wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia.
Pirro said in a statement Friday that the Fed’s inspector general has been asked to investigate cost overruns in ongoing renovation projects. Pirro did not say who made the request. Mr. Powell last year asked the inspector general to investigate the issue.
“As the IG conducts this investigation, I have directed my office to close the investigation,” Pirro said. “However, please note that I will not hesitate to reopen a criminal investigation if the facts warrant it.”
Pirro’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The Fed declined to comment on Pirro’s decision early Friday. Powell said he received a subpoena from Pirro’s office in January. He denounced those as excuses and said he was frustrated with the Trump administration for not cutting rates sooner and more deeply than the Fed felt warranted.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts and ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington, DC, USA.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Prosecutors in Mr. Pirro’s office told a judge in March that there was no concrete evidence of wrongdoing. The judge proceeded to cancel Mr. Pirro’s subpoena. Appellate lawyers told CNBC that appeals will be difficult.
The senators’ letter explores potential political motivations for the investigation. “From your perspective, what are the ‘facts’ that warrant reopening the investigation?” Warren and Durbin ask.
They asked Pirro whether President Donald Trump or other administration officials had been informed of the decision to halt the investigation. It also wants details on the request to the Fed’s inspector general.
Scott Alvarez, the Fed’s former general counsel, said earlier Friday that the Fed was likely questioning Pirro about similar issues.
Although the investigation was initially started without any facts, what kind of facts would cause the investigation to be restarted? he said.
Warren said earlier Friday that she didn’t think the Senate should move forward with confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee to replace Powell. Warsh testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, the committee’s ranking Republican, has vowed to block the nomination while the investigation continues.
Tillis has not commented on Pirro’s decision.
