U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro lashed out at Republicans who have criticized her disputed probe into Donald Trump’s economic nemesis, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
In an extraordinary appearance on Fox News, during which she spoke for nearly five minutes after host Sean Hannity asked a single question, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., defended the investigation into Powell and attacked GOP lawmakers who have questioned its merit.
“I do an investigation, and I do it quietly until I get to the point where I can say something. But then the chairman says, ‘No, no, you’re attacking the independence of the Federal Reserve.’ That’s not what we’re doing. We’re doing our job,” Pirro said.
“And I think the sad part about this is that no one is above the law, nor should anyone think they have the right to be above the law,” she continued. “I’m curious to those who claim, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a terrible thing,’ even in our own party. What do you suggest? Are there certain people you cannot investigate? Are there certain people where you look the other way and throw complaints in a drawer? That’s not the America I grew up in.”
Pirro’s investigation into the chair of America’s central bank centers on ballooning costs tied to renovations of Federal Reserve buildings, as well as Powell’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in 2025 regarding those overruns.
In a rare public statement, Powell said the Fed made “every effort” to keep Congress informed about the project and suggested the “threat” of criminal charges is motivated by the Federal Reserve’s refusal to bow to Trump’s pressure to cut interest rates when the president wanted them to.
Several Republican lawmakers—including three GOP senators who sit on the Senate Banking Committee, which confirms Federal Reserve nominees—have condemned the latest retaliatory investigation into one of Trump’s adversaries.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he will refuse to support any of Trump’s nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, including Powell’s replacement when his term ends in May, because of the probe. North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, a frequent critic of Powell, said even he does not believe the Fed chair is a “criminal” and hopes the issue can be “put to rest quickly.”
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy warned that investigating the head of America’s central bank could spook markets and drive up interest rates. “We need this like a hole in the head,” he told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune even expressed doubt about the investigation’s legitimacy, saying the accusations levied at Powell “better be real” and “better be serious.”
Pirro, a former Fox News host whom Trump appointed as U.S. attorney, has claimed she attempted to contact Powell and the Federal Reserve on “multiple occasions” before issuing subpoenas. She is reported to have issued those subpoenas without securing the necessary sign-off from senior Justice Department officials and without notifying the White House or the Treasury Department.
“He [Powell] chose to politicize and publicize this. I did not politicize or publicize any of it,” Pirro said during her monologue on Hannity. “I follow the federal rules. I investigate until I have evidence, and if and when I do, then I go forward with a public statement.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Federal Reserve for comment.
