Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has drawn Trump's ire for years, but it was Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte who came up with the latest strategy to try and bring him down.
Bloomberg News reported Monday morning that those familiar with the matter point to Pulte for the strategy. However, one senior administration official claimed it was the Justice Department behind the subpoena that probed Powell's congressional testimony about the building renovations.
Meanwhile there is a concern that the attack will discourage Powell from leaving the Fed once he's no longer chairman. Powell's term on the board of governors continues until Jan. 2028. His chairmanship ends in May of this year.
There is a tradition of some Fed chairs leaving the board after they've served as chair, but Powell may decide not to in an effort to protect the independence of the board. Thus far, Trump has already tried to fire Lisa Cook, a Democratic appointee, to the board of governors. She has taken the matter to court and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider the matter later this month.
"Some of Trump’s allies were alarmed by the move, fearing a legal fight aimed at Fed Chair Jerome Powell will upset the bond market, some of the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss private talks within the administration," Bloomberg reported. "They are also concerned it will discourage Powell from leaving the Fed once his chairmanship ends in May. Powell can remain on as a Fed governor until 2028 and hasn’t yet said whether he intends to leave as is tradition."
Pulte has been a key ally in Trump's efforts to go after Trump's perceived enemies. It was Pulte who came up with the "scandal" involving a mortgage taken out by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Justice Department filed the indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia and the case was ultimately dismissed.
Plute refused to comment when asked about the matter by Bloomberg.
“The DOJ is outside of my purview. This is out of my purview. I don’t know anything about it, and I would defer you to the DOJ,” he said when speaking to Bloomberg Television.
There were many top aides in Trump's administration who weren't even aware of the subpoena until Powell was served on Friday.
Trump told reporters he had no idea what was happening in the case.
"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 about the matter in a statement.
Read the full report here.
