Global & US Headlines
DOJ Subpoenas Powell; GOP Senators Pledge to Block All Trump Fed Picks
After the Justice Department issued grand-jury subpoenas to Chair Jerome Powell on 11 Jan 2026, Republican senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski announced they will freeze confirmation of any Trump Federal Reserve nominees until the probe ends.
Focusing Facts
- Powell confirmed on 11 Jan 2026 that the Fed received subpoenas tied to alleged perjury over a $2.5 b headquarters renovation.
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) stated on 11 Jan 2026 he will oppose every Fed nominee, a position echoed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on 12 Jan 2026.
- Markets reacted with the U.S. dollar falling roughly 0.4 % and gold jumping to a record above $4,600/oz in early 12 Jan trading.
Context
Presidents have sparred with the Fed before—Richard Nixon leaned on Arthur Burns ahead of the 1972 election, and Lyndon Johnson allegedly shoved Bill Martin at his Texas ranch in 1965—but using criminal subpoenas to pressure a sitting chair is closer to Andrew Jackson’s 1833 removal of federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States. The episode underscores a long-running global pattern—Turkey in the early 2020s, Argentina in the 1980s—where executives weaken central-bank autonomy to juice growth and monetize debt, usually at the cost of credibility and currency stability. Over a century horizon, the resilience of U.S. monetary independence has anchored the dollar’s reserve status and cheap Treasury financing; eroding that firewall, even symbolically, risks higher long-term inflation expectations and invites rivals to challenge the dollar-centric system. Whether this probe fizzles or sets a precedent will shape perceptions of U.S. institutional robustness well beyond the current rate cycle.
Perspectives
Mainstream U.S. and wire-service outlets
Mainstream U.S. and wire-service outlets — They cast the DOJ threat as an unprecedented attack designed to intimidate Powell and endanger the Federal Reserve’s independence. These reports lean heavily on Powell and former Fed officials’ quotations, giving limited space to the substance of the renovation allegations, thus reinforcing a narrative that paints Trump as uniquely hostile to norms.
White House officials and pro-Trump statements
as carried in mainstream outlets — The investigation into Powell is merely a legitimate probe into possible perjury and waste on the $2.5 billion Fed renovation, unrelated to interest-rate politics. By framing the subpoenas as routine oversight and denying presidential involvement, this narrative downplays years of public pressure on the Fed and obscures the appearance of political retaliation, an angle questioned even within the same articles.
Market-focused financial commentary sites
Market-focused financial commentary sites — They emphasise the immediate market reaction—dollar weakness, surging gold, equity jitters—and warn that the probe could trigger a 'sell-America' trade and long-term premium on U.S. assets. By spotlighting sharp moves in currencies and precious metals, these outlets have an incentive to dramatise volatility and may overstate the lasting economic damage to attract traders’ attention.