It’s official.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been formally referred to the Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution.
Last week, Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna announced her intention to file a criminal referral against Powell due to the controversial expenses associated with the Fed’s renovation project.
Powell is currently facing scrutiny over the staggering increase in costs for refurbishing the Federal Reserve’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, which escalated from an initial $1.9 billion estimate to a hefty $2.5 billion.
According to reports from CNN, Powell has requested that the central bank’s inspector general conduct an additional review of the renovation, which has been characterized by some Senate lawmakers as excessive and extravagant during Powell’s semiannual monetary policy hearing last month.
The renovation project, which the Fed’s board approved in 2017, began construction in 2021 after an initial cost assessment of $1.9 billion in 2019. However, unforeseen complications—such as unexpected amounts of asbestos, toxic soil contamination, and a higher-than-anticipated water table—have driven the costs up, leading to the current $2.5 billion estimate, as detailed on the Fed’s official website.
I am criminally referring Jerome Powell to the DOJ to investigate perjury regarding his crazy $2.5BN building.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) July 17, 2025
On Monday, Congresswoman Luna sent a letter to the Department of Justice accusing Powell of perjury. She asserted that during a testimony on June 25, 2025, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Powell made several materially false statements about the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building.
Luna’s letter emphasizes that Powell misrepresented the extent of the cost overruns and the changes made to the project. She pointed out that, in a separate communication to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, Powell referred to the changes that escalated costs as “minor.” However, congressional investigators have found that the alterations were significant, contradicting Powell’s claims.
