Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Senator Dick Durbin, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, after her announcement that she was pausing the Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell while warning it could be reopened. The Senators urged that the investigations be closed permanently and sought clarification on whether the probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook remains open. The letter characterises the Powell investigation as pretextual and politically motivated, describing it as nominally focused on Powell’s congressional testimony regarding the Federal Reserve’s renovation of two Washington, D.C. office buildings, but driven by President Trump’s displeasure over interest rate decisions. It cites Pirro’s statement that the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General had been asked to scrutinise building cost overruns and that her office would close its investigation as the Inspector General undertakes this inquiry, while reserving the option to restart a criminal investigation “should the facts warrant doing so.” The Senators requested written responses by April 27, 2026, including whether Pirro consulted President Trump before making the announcement and the status of the Cook probe.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 2026-04-24
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking members press DOJ on paused criminal probes of Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro urging permanent closure of the Department of Justice criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and seeking clarity on whether the probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook remains open. They describe the Powell investigation as pretextual and politically motivated, note that Pirro has paused it while the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General reviews building cost overruns, and request written responses on her consultations with President Trump and the Cook investigation’s status.