{"id":331291,"date":"2026-01-13T20:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/treasury-secretary-bessent-not-happy-about-investigation-into-powell-conveyed-concerns-to-trump-sources"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:54:11","slug":"treasury-secretary-bessent-not-happy-about-investigation-into-powell-conveyed-concerns-to-trump-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/treasury-secretary-bessent-not-happy-about-investigation-into-powell-conveyed-concerns-to-trump-sources","title":{"rendered":"Treasury Secretary Bessent not completely happy about investigation into Powell, conveyed considerations to Trump: Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not happy with the Justice Department&#8217;s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, multiple sources told ABC News, warning it creates an unnecessary distraction.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Bessent conveyed those concerns directly to President Donald Trump in a call on Sunday, sources said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Sources added Bessent was not advocating for Powell or questioning the investigation when he spoke to the president, but he did make clear his concerns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur \" style=\"padding-bottom:66.65380162099575%\" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7e1c3c6b-6f96-4f41-82c4-9360eb4fa615\/bessent-ap-jef-260113_1768310939467_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7e1c3c6b-6f96-4f41-82c4-9360eb4fa615\/bessent-ap-jef-260113_1768310939467_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7e1c3c6b-6f96-4f41-82c4-9360eb4fa615\/bessent-ap-jef-260113_1768310939467_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7e1c3c6b-6f96-4f41-82c4-9360eb4fa615\/bessent-ap-jef-260113_1768310939467_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Congress\" alt=\"Congress\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7e1c3c6b-6f96-4f41-82c4-9360eb4fa615\/bessent-ap-jef-260113_1768310939467_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">Department of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pa., Dec. 9, 2025.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Matt Rourke\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/01\/12\/bessent-trump-investigation-powell-federal-reserve\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">Axios<\/a> was the first to report the call. The White House has not responded to a request for comment.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">When ABC News reached out for comment about the Axios report, a Treasury Department spokesperson said, &#8220;There is zero daylight between Secretary Bessent and President Trump, and the &#8216;sources&#8217; in this story do not speak for the Secretary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Powell announced the Justice Department probe in a rare video message on Sunday night. The news <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/doj-probe-powell-sparks-backlash-republicans-former-fed\/story?id=129134680\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">sparked backlash<\/a> from former Federal Reserve and Treasury officials as well as current members of Congress, including several Republicans who typically support the administration&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday said the Federal Reserve &#8220;is not something to be trifled with&#8221; given its &#8220;profound impact&#8221; on global markets, and that the administration should brief the Senate on the probe &#8220;at some point.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The investigation is related to Powell&#8217;s testimony last June about the multiyear renovation of the central bank&#8217;s buildings in Washington. But Trump has made Powell a frequent target of his attacks and push to cut interest rates, and Powell said he believes the probe is politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said Trump has &#8220;every right&#8221; to criticize Powell&#8217;s leadership but said he didn&#8217;t direct the Justice Department to investigate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">On Tuesday, Trump commented on Powell as he left the White House to travel to Michigan for an economic speech.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked the president, &#8220;A growing number of Republicans are voicing concerns about this investigation. They say the investigation into Jerome Powell is going to undermine confidence in the Fed. Do you approve of this investigation?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">&#8220;He&#8217;s billions of dollars over budget. So, either he&#8217;s incompetent or he&#8217;s crooked. <!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->I don&#8217;t know what he is. But certainly, he doesn&#8217;t do a very good job,&#8221; Trump said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/treasury-secretary-bessent-happy-investigation-powell-conveyed-concerns\/story?id=129161482\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not happy with the Justice Department&#8217;s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, multiple sources told ABC News, warning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":331294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1674,9355,8806,1426,6710,9357,9354,9358,7789,9356,636],"class_list":["post-331291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-congress","tag-information-chief-white-home-correspondent","tag-jerome-powell","tag-justice-division","tag-majority-chief","tag-matt-axios","tag-mount-pocono","tag-scott-bessent","tag-the-primary","tag-treasury-division-spokesperson","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331291"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331293,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331291\/revisions\/331293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}