Tillis Threatens To Block Fed Nominations

Adriana Stone 0 2 min read

Tillis Threatens To Block Fed Nominations

Senator Thom Tillis has put a hard line down. He says he will oppose any Federal Reserve nominees until the legal questions around Chair Jerome Powell are settled.

The root of the fight is a Justice Department criminal probe into Powell. That investigation, first reported in November, centers on the massive cost overrun for the Fed’s Washington, D.C. headquarters renovation. The price tag jumped from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna pushed the matter into the open months ago. In July she sent a letter to the DOJ accusing Powell of perjury. Her letter included this charge: “On June 25, 2025, Chairman Powell provided testimony under oath before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs regarding the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building. In his statements, he made several materially false claims,” Luna’s letter said.

She doubled down in a second passage: “Separately, in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, Chairman Powell characterized the changes that escalated the cost of the project from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion as minor. However, documents reviewed by congressional investigators indicate that the scope and cost overruns of this project were neither minor in nature nor in substance,” Luna wrote.

Tillis, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, reacted angrily. He told colleagues he will not back any Fed appointee — including the next Fed chair — until this cloud clears. He said the department’s investigation has to run its course before confirmations move forward.

Here is the related tweet that captured part of Tillis’s comment and reaction from the Hill:

Powell has pushed back. He released a video response saying the move looks political. He called for patience and defended the Fed’s independence. His words were clear: “I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law, but this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said.

He added two more points in the video: “This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell added in a video message.

And: “It is not about Congress’s oversight role. The Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Powell said.

Bottom line: a DOJ probe. A Republican lawmaker accusing Powell of perjury. A senator threatening to block nominees. The fallout could slow confirmations and thrust Fed politics into the spotlight just as monetary policy debates heat up.

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