Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) referred Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the Department of Justice last Saturday on charges of perjury and making false statements.

President Donald Trump and Republicans have targeted Powell for not lowering interest rates and the central bank’s lavish spending on its new headquarters.

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Luna is pushing the referral forward because she says Powell lied about “the inclusion of luxury features” in the headquarters. She says the project documents submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission contradict his statements.

“These are not minor misstatements,” Luna said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner by her office. “Chairman Powell knowingly misled both Congress and executive branch officials about the true nature of a taxpayer-funded project. Lying under oath is a serious offense— especially from someone tasked with overseeing our monetary system and public trust.”

“The American people deserve transparency— not deception— especially when billions of dollars and institutional integrity are at stake,” the statement continued.

She said Powell reiterated that there are no special features in the renovation. “There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble … there are no special elevators, just old elevators that have been there; there are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens,” he said to the Senate Banking Committee in June.

“The discrepancies between Chairman Powell’s sworn testimony and the factual record call for a
thorough and impartial review by your office,” Luna concluded in her letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“The integrity of oversight and the trust placed in public officials—particularly those responsible for monetary policy and stewardship of taxpayer resources—demand accountability at the highest levels. Please confirm receipt of this referral and advise whether your office will be opening a formal
investigation into this matter,” she added.

The charges, if Powell faces them, could give Trump an excuse to fire him. The administration had already gone after him for the renovations, which are pricier than anticipated. “Instead of attempting to right the Fed’s fiscal ship, you have plowed ahead with an ostentatious overhaul of your Washington, D.C., headquarters,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote to Powell.

“Your testimony appears to reveal that the project is out of compliance with the approved plan with regard to major design elements,” he added. “This would bring the project outside of the [National Capital Planning Commission’s] approval and thus in violation of the [National Capital Planning Act], and require the Fed to immediately halt construction and obtain a new approval from the NCPC before proceeding any further.”

Powell responded in a letter to the White House that the “board believes it is of the utmost importance to provide transparency for our decisions and to be accountable to the public.”

“We have taken great care to ensure the project is carefully overseen since it was first approved by the Board in 2017,” Powell added. Powell said he has asked the central bank’s independent inspector general to conduct a “fresh review” of the project, and that the two buildings under renovation have had more extensive repairs and updates than anticipated.

TRUMP DENIES REPORT THAT BESSENT ADVISED HIM AGAINST FIRING POWELL

Trump denied a report from last Saturday that stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advised him against firing Powell, citing the negative effect on the economy and markets.

“The Wall Street Journal ran a typically untruthful story today by saying that Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, explained to me that firing Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, the Worst Federal Reserve Chairman in History, would be bad for the Market,” the president posted to Truth Social. “Nobody had to explain that to me. I know better than anybody what’s good for the Market, and what’s good for the U.S.A. If it weren’t for me, the Market wouldn’t be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED! So, get your information CORRECT. People don’t explain to me, I explain to them!”