The Trump administration vowed Friday to appeal a ruling from a federal judge that an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was likely politically motivated and blocked a grand jury subpoena.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, made the announcement at a news conference as the ruling was unsealed Friday. Her office has reportedly been investigating Powell’s 2025 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee about cost overruns on renovations to the Federal Reserve’s building.
Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the decision on Wednesday and said he would unseal it Friday. The judge cited months of statements by President Donald Trump pressuring Powell to make decisions to lower interest rates and criticizing Powell.
Boasberg also said Pirro appeared to act at Trump’s direction to initiate the investigation. “A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning,” Boasberg wrote.
“On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual,” Boasberg wrote.
At the news conference, Pirro called Boasberg an “activist judge,” said he “neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime” and said she would appeal his ruling.
“This is wrong, and it is without legal authority,” Pirro said.
Pirro argued that Boasberg’s ruling could be used by defense attorneys to claim that prosecutors had targeted them at the direction of Trump. “We’re a billion dollars in cost overruns. Are you kidding?” Pirro said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., posted on social media that appealing the judge’s decision would only extend his block on considering further Fed nominees. In January, Tillis had threatened to hold up any Federal Reserve nominees until after the probe into Powell had concluded.
“This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence,” Tillis posted on social media. “We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on.”
Tillis sits on the Banking Committee, which is currently split 13-11 between Republicans and Democrats, allowing Tillis to deadlock the panel.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., another member of the Banking panel, said in a statement the Senate should not move forward with any nominations until the cases against both Powell and Cook were dropped.
“Today a federal judge ruled on what we all already know: the Trump Administration’s weaponization of the Department of Justice against Jerome Powell amounts to nothing more than a witch hunt,” Warren said.
Trump has sought to reshape the Federal Reserve, continually pressing the institution to lower interest rates and firing board member Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage improprieties from before she took her position.
Cook has remained in the role as the legal fight over the validity of that firing is currently pending before the Supreme Court.
More broadly, Trump has fired hundreds of federal officials, including dozens who have statutory firing protections, in a bid to reshape the federal government in his image without Congress.
Last month, Pirro sought a grand jury indictment against six Democrats who issued a video statement stating the law that members of the military do not have to obey unlawful orders. The grand jury refused the indictment.
