GOP Senators Vow to Block Fed Nominees Over Probe of Powell

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says Justice Department subpoenas are a threat to the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 25, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) became the second Republican to support a plan to block any Federal Reserve Board nominees proposed by President Donald Trump after the Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Federal Reserve received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department on Jan. 9, threatening a criminal indictment related to Powell’s testimony in June 2025 about the central bank’s building renovation project.