Republican lawmakers break from US president on Fed chair indictment

Former Federal Reserve chairs called the indictment an ‘unprecedented attempt’ to undermine the independence of the US central bank in a joint letter.Published On 12 Jan 2026United States Senator Lisa Murkowski threw her support behind fellow Republican Thom Tillis’s plan to block President Donald Trump’s Fed nominees after the Justice Department over the weekend threatened to indict Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.“The stakes are too high to look the other way: if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer,” Murkowski wrote on X on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump promises oil executives ‘total safety’ if they invest in Venezuelalist 2 of 4Thousands of Irish farmers protest EU’s Mercosur trade deallist 3 of 4US Fed Chair Powell says he’s under investigation, will not bow to Trumplist 4 of 4What we know about the protests sweeping Iranend of listMurkowski is one of a small handful of Trump’s fellow Republicans who have shown themselves willing to vote against his wishes at times in the US Senate, where his party holds a 53-47 majority.Since returning to office last year, Trump has been increasingly publicly pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates, breaking with longstanding practice meant to insulate the central bank from political pressure and allowing it to focus on economic data.Alaska lawmaker Murkowski said she had spoken earlier on Monday with Powell, who on Sunday said the US central bank had received subpoenas last week that he called “pretexts” aimed at the Fed’s basing interest rates on policy and not on Trump’s preferences.Murkowski called the Justice Department threat “nothing more than an attempt at coercion”, adding that Congress should investigate the department if it believes probing the Fed was warranted over renovation cost overruns, which she called “not unusual”.Hassett weighs inPowell’s term is up in May, and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett has largely been seen as a potential pick to succeed him.