North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he would oppose the nomination of Powell’s replacement by Trump, and any other Fed Board nominee, “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 said in a statement.
“It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,” the senator said.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, said she believed Trump’s plan was to push Powell off the Fed board for good and “install another sock puppet to complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank”.
“This committee and the Senate should not move forward with any Trump nominee for the Fed, including Fed Chair,” she said.
Powell’s investigation will be overseen by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, according to the New York Times, which first reported the probe.
Trump previously took aim at Lisa Cook, a governor at the US central bank, whom he tried to fire over alleged mortgage fraud.
The case was blocked by a US federal court and will be heard by the Supreme Court later this month.