House Republican refers Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to DOJ for potential perjury charges
WASHINGTON — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna referred embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for prosecution Monday after he allegedly lied to Congress about $2.5 billion in renovations for a new HQ rivaling the “Palace of Versailles” in its opulence.
Powell, 72, denied during a Senate Banking Committee hearing last month that the lavish upgrades — including plans for a VIP dining room and roof terrace gardens — were being made to the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building on the National Mall and said the facility “really needed a serious renovation” since it “had never had one.”
Both those statements are false, according to a criminal referral that Luna (R-Fla.) passed along to the Department of Justice on Saturday.
“According to the Federal Reserve’s final submission to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), nearly all of those assertions … are contradicted by the actual project plans,” she wrote.
“The Federal Reserve Board conducted a comprehensive renovation of the Eccles Building from 1999 to 2003, which included the replacement of the roof, all major systems, and a full refurbishing of interior and courtyard spaces,” Luna added.
The Fed’s headquarters was originally constructed between 1935 and 1937. At least 3,000 staffers are currently working in the adjacent William McChesney Martin Jr. building, built in the 1970s and upgraded in 2021.
Planning documents show the new Eccles and FRB-East buildings are supposed to feature palatial rooftop garden terraces, skylights, Georgian white marble, water features and an elevator system that carries board members directly to a VIP dining suite.
Italian beehives have already been installed on the roof.
In the June 25 hearing, Powell told senators that the Fed’s 90-year-old headquarters “was not really safe and it was not waterproof” — but admitted to cost overruns during construction.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) shot back: “We can all agree that updating aging infrastructure is a legitimate need, but when senior citizens can barely afford Formica countertops, it sends the wrong message to spend public money on luxury upgrades that feel more like they belong in the Palace of Versailles than a public institution.”
An April 30 report from the Federal Reserve’s inspector general found that as of February, the renovations were projected to cost at least $2.4 billion and be finished in 2027.
As recently as last week, President Trump was considering firing Powell, but later told reporters it was “highly unlikely” he would do so.
The 47th president has harshly criticized the Fed chair’s resistance to cutting rates amid the administration’s global tariffs regime, which economists have warned could hike inflation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh have all been floated as potential successors to Powell.
Veteran trial attorneys often claim perjury is one of the most difficult federal crimes to prove in court.
However, Luna said Powell’s assertions were not “minor misstatements.”
“Chairman Powell knowingly misled both Congress and executive branch officials about the true nature of a taxpayer-funded project,” she said in a statement.
“Lying under oath is a serious offense — especially from someone tasked with overseeing our monetary system and public trust.”
The Post reached out to reps for the DOJ for comment.