Bessent defends DOJ probe into Fed Chair Powell: “Independence does not mean no accountability”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, dismissing concerns that the probe could weaken the central bank’s traditional independence.

“I think that the message is that independence does not mean no accountability,” Bessent told “CBS Saturday Morning” co-host Kelly O’Grady in an interview. “I’ve been calling for the Fed to do an internal investigation on numerous things since last spring, and they’ve chosen not to do it.”

Earlier this month, the Justice Department served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas tied to a criminal investigation into Powell’s June 2025 testimony before a Senate committee regarding a project to renovate several Federal Reserve office buildings in Washington, D.C.

Trump officials have highlighted the project’s mounting costs. Powell has openly rejected the Trump administration’s claims of cost overruns in renovating the Fed, castigating the Justice Department probe as part of a campaign to pressure central bank officials into more aggressively cutting interest rates.

Bessent said Wednesday that the Fed must be “beyond reproach” in its dealings, characterizing it as the “most powerful, unappointed group in the U.S.”

“So if I want a new chair for my office at Treasury, it comes from an appropriation,” he said. “The Fed — if they overspend on our buildings, $700 million, $1 billion, $1.5 billion — they just print magic money.”

Watch more of Kelly O’Grady’s interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tonight on “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil.”