US president Donald Trump's administration has ramped up its pressure campaign on the US Federal Reserve, threatening to indict chair Jerome Powell over comments to Congress about a building renovation project, an action Mr Powell called a "pretext" to gain more influence over interest rates Mr Trump wants cut dramatically. Mr Tillis said he would oppose any Trump nominees to the Fed, including the coming choice of successor to Mr Powell as chair, "until this legal matter is fully resolved". No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law." "This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. Mr Trump told NBC News Sunday that he had no knowledge of the Justice Department's actions.

Source: Irish Examiner January 12, 2026 08:24 UTC