Pirro drops Powell probe, handing Kevin Warsh a lifeline, though U.S. attorney vows to restart probe ‘should the facts warrant doing so’

The criminal investigation that has held the Federal Reserve chair nomination hostage for three months is over—sort of.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that her office is closing its probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the central bank’s Washington headquarters renovation, punting the matter to the central bank’s inspector general.

“This morning the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns—in the billions of dollars—that have been borne by taxpayers,” Pirro wrote on X. “The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers.”

The decision could clear a major procedural hurdle for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Powell when his term as chair expires May 15.

Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to block Warsh’s confirmation as long as the Department of Justice probe remained open, calling the investigation “weak” and “frivolous” and framing it as an assault on Fed independence. Republicans hold a 12–10 edge on the committee, which means Tillis’s single vote is enough to create an 11–11 deadlock and keep the nomination frozen.