Powell Says Trump Weaponizes Justice Department Against Fed

The Justice Department just served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas over a building renovation that went over budget, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell says this is really about Trump trying to control interest rates through criminal prosecution. Markets are freaking out—the dollar is tanking, gold just hit record highs, and investors are genuinely asking what happens if the Fed's independence becomes negotiable for the first time in generations. A Republican senator just accused his own party's administration of weaponizing the DOJ to pressure Powell into cutting rates before his term expires in May, and honestly, the timing of everything—the investigation, Trump's pre-selected replacement, a Supreme Court case on firing Fed officials in nine days—feels way too coordinated to be about asbestos and cost overruns.