The US Department of Justice was revealed to have launched a criminal investigation against Powell in November last year.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the matter revealed that the US Department of Justice had launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and the agency as early as November last year, and that before issuing subpoenas, the Washington DC federal prosecutor's office did not inform the White House, senior officials of the Department of Justice, or the Treasury Department. On November 11, local time, US officials familiar with the matter disclosed that the Columbia District federal prosecutor's office had initiated a criminal investigation into Powell regarding the renovation project at the Federal Reserve's Washington headquarters, and whether Powell had committed perjury before the US Congress about the project. Powell later confirmed that the Department of Justice had issued a subpoena to the Fed and threatened to bring criminal charges. He responded that the Department of Justice's actions were just an "excuse," and said that the US government aimed to put more pressure on him regarding interest rate issues. President Trump denied any involvement with the Department of Justice issuing subpoenas to the Federal Reserve, stating "I have no knowledge of this," but emphasizing that Powell had not been doing a "very good job" at the Federal Reserve.