Fed chair Jerome Powell hits out at Trump administration over criminal indictment
發佈日期: 2026-01-12 20:07
TVB News
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has for the first time hit out at the Trump administration.
This after the Department of Justice served the US central bank with subpoenas, and threatened it with a criminal indictment over Powell's testimony this summer about the Fed's building renovations.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers.
The subpoenas relate to Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June regarding the Fed's 2.5 billion US dollar renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump has criticised as excessive.
Powell said: "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. This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress' oversight role."
He said: "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."
The central bank has attempted to placate the administration by dialing back some policies, such as efforts to consider the impact of climate change on the banking system.
