Fed Chair Powell Reportedly Held More Than A Dozen Calls During Week Following Disclosure Of DOJ Investigation

The calendar ‌notations did not indicate the content of the 13 calls, each of which lasted 10 or 15 minutes, a report from Reuters said.

• The last time ⁠he ​spoke with more lawmakers in a single week ​was in February 2025. 
• Several lawmakers Powell spoke with—such as Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Kennedy of Louisiana—publicly expressed their support for Powell and criticized the DOJ investigation.
• Current Fed Chair Powell is facing a criminal investigation from the Department of Justice into a $2.5 billion building renovation project at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington. 

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell reportedly had just above dozens of calls in the week that followed his Jan. 11 disclosure that he was under a Department of ​Justice investigation into his statements to Congress.

The calendar ‌notations did not indicate the content of the 13 calls, each of which lasted 10 or 15 minutes. But they took place in the days immediately after Powell, in an ​unusual Sunday evening video statement, called the DOJ's subpoenas "pretexts" for intensifying the Trump ​administration's pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates, according to a Reuters report that cited Powell’s calendar. 

Calls To Powell

Several lawmakers Powell spoke with—such as Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Kennedy of Louisiana—publicly expressed their support for Powell and criticized the DOJ investigation. According to the report, Powell also spoke with Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott, who commented that while he found Powell inept, he likely did not break the law. 

The last time ⁠he ​spoke with more lawmakers in a single week ​was in February 2025, ahead of his twice-yearly testimony before Congress for which he usually prepares with ​a series of one-on-ones with key lawmakers, the report added.

Powell’s Investigation

Powell is facing a criminal investigation from the Department of Justice into a $2.5 billion building renovation project at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington as well as into his congressional testimony about the project itself. 

Powell has been at the center of criticism from Trump and his administration over the lack of rate cuts. Trump, since taking oath in January last year, has been pushing Powell and the Fed to cut benchmark interest rates.

Market Reaction

U.S. equities were down in extended hours of trading on Monday. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.36%, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 0.4% while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) slide 016%. 

Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

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