U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) voiced his support of the Trump administration’s controversial DOJ investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell on Fox News yesterday. (The DOJ is reportedly focused on cost overruns, overseen by Powell, on Fed building renovations in Washington, D.C., which the administration suggests could be a criminal matter.)
Cramer said: “Maybe the point should be if you’re the attorney for Jay Powell and you want to avoid an indictment, how about you go to Jeanine Pirro and say, ‘I’ll make a deal. I’ll step down today if you’ll drop the investigation today.’ To me, that would be a win win for everybody.”
Sometimes they just tell us they are weaponizing the criminal justice system to push their political agenda. https://t.co/UIlpJ09Gyk
— Chris Murphy
(@ChrisMurphyCT) January 13, 2026
Note: Fox News star Larry Kudlow, who served as Director of the National Economic Council of the United States during the first Trump administration, told Cramer, “Well, I’d love that. I mean, we’ve all talked about getting him out of there.”
While MAGA supporters argue that “Powell should resign. He’s blatantly overspent on the Fed renovations and blatantly lied about it,” Democratic political pundits including Richard Angwin argue: “Sen. Cramer casually floating extortion against the Fed Chair as a ‘win-win’ is a disgusting admission that Republicans will weaponize the DOJ to bully independent institutions.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) also responded to Cramer’s comments, writing: “Sometimes they just tell us they are weaponizing the criminal justice system to push their political agenda.”