Senate Republican on DOJ Powell probe: ‘We need this like we need a hole in the head’

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Monday questioned the Department of Justice (DOJ) over its probe into the Federal Reserve's renovation of its Washington, D.C., headquarters.

"We need this like we need a hole in the head," Kennedy, a senior member of the Banking Committee, told reporters.

The Louisiana Republican also warned that "any litigation between the Federal Reserve and the executive branch of the United States government is going to cause interest rates to go up, not down."

"I know Chairman [Jerome] Powell very well," he said outside the Capitol. "I will be stunned — I will be shocked if he has done anything wrong."

Kennedy was one of several Republicans to voice disapproval over the investigation. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is also on the Senate Banking Committee, criticized the DOJ's moves as "another example of amateur hour, as far as I'm concerned."

Tillis accused President Trump's advisers of deliberately attempting to undercut the Fed's independence and threatened to block any of the president's nominees to the nation's central bank until the investigation is "fully resolved."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she backed Tillis's proposal to block nominees and called on her fellow lawmakers to investigate if the administration is attempting to coerce the Fed into cutting rates more dramatically. She said the "stakes are too high."

"After speaking with Chair Powell this morning, it's clear the administration's investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion," Murkowski said in a statement Monday. "If the Department of Justice believes an investigation into Chair Powell is warranted based on project cost overruns — which are not unusual — then Congress needs to investigate the Department of Justice."

Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) also gave Powell support and called for the investigation to be done quickly, adding that it "better be serious."

House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.), in defense of the Fed chair, said the DOJ's probe "at a time when the nation's economy requires focus creates an unnecessary distraction."

"I know Mr. Powell to be a man of integrity with a strong commitment to public service," Hill said in a statement. "While over the years we have had our policy disagreements, I found him to be forthright, candid, and a person of the highest integrity."

Trump has challenged Powell over the renovation to the Fed's headquarters, including one famous encounter during a hard-hat tour of the building in July. Renovations began three years ago and are now $700 million over budget.

Powell himself said the "threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president."

Trump, during a brief interview with NBC News on Monday, denied knowledge of the DOJ's investigation.

Updated at 8:26 a.m. EST