Former fed chairs condemn criminal investigation into Powell
All living former chairs of the Federal Reserve have condemned the criminal investigation into Jerome Powell.
In a joint statement, the former chairs – which include Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and Janet Yellen – said that the investigation was “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence”.
“This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly,” the signatories, which includes several chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote.
“It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.”
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Updated at 11.30 EST
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CNN is reporting that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is scheduled to meet with Donald Trump on Thursday, citing a senior White House official.
Since the US’s capture Nicolás Maduro on 3 January the future governance of Venezuela has been an open question, with Trump dismissing the idea of working with Machado, saying “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country”.
But in a Fox News interview on Thursday, he said that Machado was “coming in next week sometime”, adding: “I look forward to saying hello to her.”
Asked whether he would accept Machado’s Nobel peace prize if she gave it to him (which the organizers of the prize have since rejected), Trump said: “I’ve heard that she wants to do that. That’d be a great honour.”
This will be the pair’s first meeting, and Machado said last week that she had not spoken to the US president since she won the prize in October.
Trump hasn’t publicly made the same offer to Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president, although he told the New York Times on Thursday that the US was “getting along very well” with her government and that they were “giving us everything that we feel is necessary”.
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Updated at 12.26 EST
Greenland can’t ‘under any circumstances’ accept US takeover and is boosting defences
Jon Henley, and Miranda Bryant in Nuuk
Greenland’s government has said it “cannot under any circumstances accept” Donald Trump’s desire to take control of Greenland, as Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said the organisation was working on ways to bolster Arctic security.
At the start of a critical week for the vast Arctic island, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, the US president restated his interest in the strategically located, mineral-rich territory, saying the US would take it “one way or the other”.
Trump has rocked the EU and Nato by refusing to rule out military force to seize Greenland, which is covered by many of their protections since Denmark belongs to both.
Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, and her Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, are due to meet the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in Washington on Wednesday.
Trump says US will do ‘something on Greenland, whether they like it or not’ – video
Greenland’s government said today that the island was “part of the kingdom of Denmark” and “as part of the Danish commonwealth, a member of Nato”. It would increase its efforts to ensure its defence took place “in the Nato framework”, it said.
The statement added that the territory’s ruling coalition “believes Greenland will for ever be part of the western defence alliance”, and that “all Nato member states, including the US, have a common interest” in the island’s defence.
Trump has said the US needs to control Greenland to increase Arctic security in the face of an alleged threat from China and Russia. Rutte said today that Nato was “working on the next steps to make sure that we collectively protect what is at stake”.
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Joining the chorus of lawmakers who have criticized the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into Jerome Powell is Republican senator Kevin Cramer.
The North Dakota lawmaker also sits on the Senate banking committee, responsible for confirming any future Federal Reserve chair.
Cramer said that while he considers Powell a “bad” leader of the central bank, “I do not believe however, he is a criminal.”
In a statement today, Cramer joined his Senate colleagues Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski in urging the end of the investigation into Powell.
“We need to restore confidence in the Fed,” he added.
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Updated at 12.03 EST
Murkowski calls justice department probe into Powell ‘an attempt at coercion’
Senate Republican Lisa Murkowski said that she spoke with embattled Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell earlier today.
“It’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” the Alaska lawmaker said in a statement. “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.”
Murkowski, who the president chided last week for supporting a Democratic war powers resolution that would prevent the Trump administration from taking any further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval, said the “the stakes are too high to look the other way” when it comes to the criminal investigation into Powell.
“If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer. My colleague, Senator Tillis, is right in blocking any Federal Reserve nominees until this is resolved,” she said.
Lisa Murkowski speaks to press outside the Senate chamber last year. Photograph: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 12.04 EST
Trump’s economic policy ‘undermines America all around the world’, Warren says
Kira Lerner
On the situation with the Federal Reserve board, Trump had made it clear that he wants to influence how interest rates are set, Warren said.
“He’s saying, ‘I want to put my hands on the dials on monetary policy,’ and Jerome Powell and some of the Fed have resisted him and have said, very calmly, that they’re going to continue to look at the economic data and make decisions based on what the economic data says.”
That’s a challenge to Trump, Warren said.
“What Trump is trying to do is terrible for our economy but it undermines America all around the world … The Fed has been the gold standard for that style of monetary policy decision making and Donald Trump is just burning that to the ground and that’s going to be costly to the United States.”
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Updated at 11.46 EST
Kira Lerner
I’m at Elizabeth Warren’s speech in DC, where she is now taking questions from reporters.
In response to a question about the Democratic National Committee’s decision not to release its 2024 election autopsy, the Massachusetts senator did not respond directly but said the party needed to focus its economic agenda on working people.
She also said that Democrats can learn something from Trump’s rhetoric. “Donald Trump stood up pretty much every day for a solid year and promised that on day one he would lower costs for American families.” Instead, costs are up because of Trump administration policies, she said, “so this is the moment for Democrats to stand up and first call Trump to account for his betrayal to the American people but also to lay out our own agenda.”
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Updated at 11.35 EST
Former fed chairs condemn criminal investigation into Powell
All living former chairs of the Federal Reserve have condemned the criminal investigation into Jerome Powell.
In a joint statement, the former chairs – which include Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and Janet Yellen – said that the investigation was “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence”.
“This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly,” the signatories, which includes several chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote.
“It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.”
Share
Updated at 11.30 EST
Republican senator vows to block any future nominations for Fed chair following investigation into Powell
A Republican senator has vowed to block all Federal Reserve nominations after the justice department opened a criminal investigation into the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, inflaming tensions over the central bank’s independence.
Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the banking committee that oversees Fed appointments who is retiring at the end of his term later this year, said on Sunday he would oppose any nominee for the Fed, including the upcoming chair vacancy, “until this legal matter is fully resolved”.
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” Tillis wrote on X.
“It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”
Thom Tillis arrives to attend a briefing on Capitol Hill for senators on the situation in Venezuela on 7 January. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersShare
Updated at 11.25 EST
Warren outlines electoral strategy for Democrats, highlights ‘trust’ and economic populism
At a speech at the National Press Club, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren said that in order to build a “sturdy big tent, it is not enough to simply attack Trump”.
“A Democratic party that worries more about offending big donors than delivering for working people is a party that is doomed to fail – in 2026, 2028, and beyond,” she said today. “Democrats need to earn trust – long-term, durable trust-across the electorate … even when that means taking on the wealthy and well connected.”
Warren also noted that Democrats were once “trusted” by working people, and went on to list – what she sees – as some of the party’s crowning policy achievements: from Medicaid to union building to the Affordable Care Act.
“I understand the temptation – in this moment of national crisis – to sand down our edges to avoid offending anyone, especially the rich and powerful who might finance our candidates,” she added. “We can’t rebuild trust by staying silent about abuses of corporate power and tax fairness simply to avoid offending the delicate sensibilities of the already-rich and powerful.
Warren, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate banking committee, noted that if her party were to “pick up the broken pieces of 2024” they “must acknowledge a hard truth”.
“Either we politely nibble around the edges of change, or we throw ourselves into the fight,” she said. Either we carefully craft our policies to ensure that the rich keep right on getting richer, or we build a party that ferociously and unapologetically serves the needs of working people.”
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Updated at 11.06 EST
Warren delivers speech on future of Democratic party, slams investigation into Powell
Senate Democrat Elizabeth Warren is delivering remarks on the future of the Democratic party today. However, she kicked off her speech today with a laundry list of rebukes against the Trump administration.
“Trump is trying to push out the chairman of the Federal Reserve board and complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank – so it serves his interests, along with his billionaire friends,” she said.
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Updated at 10.40 EST
In a post on Truth Social a short while ago, Donald Trump praised himself for the his work with Nato.
“I’m the one who SAVED NATO!!!,” he wrote in a post on Monday. The president has routinely taken credit for the decision of member countries to increase their defense and security spending from 2% to 5% last year.
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Top White House economic adviser says ‘not involved’ in DoJ’s decision to investigate Powell
In an interview with CNBC today, the White House economic council director Kevin Hassett said that he was “not involved” in the justice department’s decision to launch a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
When asked about Powell’s claims that the investigation into his handling of the central bank’s ongoing investigation is merely a “pretext” to “put pressure on him to do the president’s bidding on lowering rate”, Hassett said that theyw ould discover whether this is accurate “in the fullness of time”.
He added that there are “dramatic cost overruns” on the Federal Reserve renovations, and “plans for the buildings that look inconsistent with the testimony”.
Kevin Hassett speaks in front of a TV camera at the White House on 9 January. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
“I’ve not been briefed on what the justice Department is thinking, and I expect the president has not as well,” Hassett reiterated.
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Updated at 09.53 EST
Trump ‘doing right things for Nato’ by encouraging higher defense spending, Rutte says, as he avoids criticizing president over Greenland
Jakub Krupa
Nato’s general secretary Mark Rutte has just been asked about Trump’s comments on Greenland on his visit to Croatia, where he met the country’s prime minister Andrej Plenković.
Rutte responded to criticism of his charm offensive and repeated flattery of Trump (most famously with his “daddy” comment), as he insisted that “I believe that Donald Trump is doing the right things for Nato by encouraging us all to spend more” in Europe to match the US spending.
He said he was “absolutely convinced” that “without Donald Trump we would never have had that result at the summit in The Hague” last year, increasing the GDP defence threshold to 5%.
“So when I praise somebody, it is based on facts, and I believe the facts are there,” he said.
He did not address the specific question on Trump’s comments on Greenland, but said he welcomed the other allies’ discussion on “come together and work together” and get more involved in the Arctic and the High North.
You have seen some announcements by the Brits and the Germans today, we are working now together to see how we can basically [come] together as an alliance, including our seven members, allies bordering on the high north, on the Arctic, to work together to indeed build that next step, which is crucial.
Rutte also said that Denmark was “already speeding up their investments when it comes to defence,” including “unique capabilities to defend territories like Greenland”.
“So we are really working together here. And my only worry is, how do we stay safe, against the Russians, against any other adversary – look at what China is doing in rapidly building up its own armed forces, but also North Koreans and others who might wish us ill or not well, at least. Therefore that’s my role, and I think we will get there,” he said.
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Updated at 09.37 EST
