Trump administration threatens to indict Fed chair Jerome Powell

At stake is the independence of the Fed - the world's most important central bank 

US president Donald Trump's administration has ramped up its pressure campaign on the US Federal Reserve, threatening to indict chair Jerome Powell over comments to Congress about a building renovation project, an action Mr Powell called a "pretext" to gain more influence over interest rates Mr Trump wants cut dramatically. Picture: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

US president Donald Trump's administration has ramped up its pressure campaign on the US Federal Reserve, threatening to indict chair Jerome Powell over comments to Congress about a building renovation project, an action Mr Powell called a "pretext" to gain more influence over interest rates Mr Trump wants cut dramatically.

The latest development in a long-running effort by Trump for greater control over the Fed had immediate fallout, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee that vets presidential nominees for the Fed, saying the threatened indictment puts the Department of Justice's "independence and credibility" in question. Mr Tillis said he would oppose any Trump nominees to the Fed, including the coming choice of successor to Mr Powell as chair, "until this legal matter is fully resolved".