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No civil lawsuit by Donald Trump against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is established by the material reviewed. Trump publicly floated a “gross incompetence” lawsuit over the Fed’s headquarters renovation, but that threat is distinct from the Justice Department’s criminal investigation and the court case over DOJ subpoenas. The latest reported DOJ position, on October 2, 2026, was that it would not reopen the criminal investigation.
What Trump said—and whether he sued Powell
Trump raised the possibility of legal action over the Federal Reserve’s renovation of its headquarters. A February 2026 letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren recounted Trump saying on August 12, 2025, that he was “considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed” over what he called incompetent management of the buildings’ construction. The letter cited CNN’s contemporaneous report. Warren’s February 2026 letter
In a statement dated December 29, 2025, and reproduced in Senate Banking Committee material, Trump said: “So we’re thinking about bringing a gross incompetence, what’s called a gross incompetence lawsuit, it’s gross incompetence, against Powell…I’d love to fire him. Maybe I still might.” Senate Banking Committee material
Those statements document a threatened or contemplated civil lawsuit, not a filed case. The reviewed material does not establish that such a suit was filed. The threat also does not show that a court found Powell liable or that Trump had authority to remove him through a lawsuit.
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How the lawsuit talk differs from the DOJ investigation
Three related events are easy to conflate, but they are not the same legal matter:
- The threatened civil lawsuit: Trump spoke about suing Powell over renovation management. The reviewed sources do not document a filing.
- The criminal investigation: DOJ investigated issues connected to the renovation and Powell’s congressional testimony about it.
- The subpoena litigation: The Federal Reserve challenged grand jury subpoenas DOJ served on it. The court case concerned those subpoenas and their purpose, not the merits of a separate civil lawsuit against Powell.
On January 11, 2026, Powell said DOJ had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas connected to his Senate testimony about renovations. He characterized the criminal threat as pressure over monetary policy, saying: “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.” That was Powell’s stated view of DOJ’s motive, not an adjudicated finding at the time. Powell’s January 11, 2026 statement
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What the court decided about the subpoenas
In March 2026, a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., quashed DOJ’s subpoenas, finding they had an improper purpose. The government later closed its investigation after deciding not to appeal. In April it asked the court to vacate the earlier decision; Chief Judge James E. Boasberg denied that request on June 11, 2026. The June 11, 2026 court opinion
In describing its earlier ruling, the court said the subpoenas’ “dominant (if not sole) purpose [was] to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will.” That finding concerned the subpoenas’ purpose. It was not a ruling on whether a civil lawsuit against Powell could succeed, nor a decision that the renovation had been well managed.
What investigators and DOJ said about the renovation
Axios reported on September 30, 2026, that the Federal Reserve inspector general found no evidence Powell committed a crime in connection with the renovation, while criticizing the Fed’s management and oversight. That distinction matters: a lack of evidence that Powell committed a crime is not a finding that the project was competently managed. Axios’s September 30, 2026 report
The renovation’s reported cost was $2.5 billion, more than double the initial estimates, Axios reported. Its account of the inspector general’s findings said two major mechanical, electrical and plumbing contracts together rose to $539 million from an earlier estimate of $178 million. These are project-specific figures, not proof by themselves of criminal wrongdoing by Powell. Axios’s report on the inspector general’s findings
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On October 2, 2026, Axios reported that Attorney General Todd Blanche said DOJ would not reopen the criminal investigation. Blanche said, “We’re not reopening a criminal investigation into him,” and added: “Making mistakes and not having any sort of oversight over the folks doing billion-dollar projects isn’t necessarily a crime.” He left open the possibility of further scrutiny of oversight if evidence of wrongdoing emerged. Axios’s October 2, 2026 report
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where the dispute stands
As of the latest reported DOJ statement on October 2, 2026, the department was not reopening its criminal investigation. The court had quashed the subpoenas and denied the government’s motion to vacate that ruling. The reported inspector general findings criticized oversight but found no evidence Powell committed a crime. The separate civil lawsuit Trump discussed remains unestablished in the reviewed sources; the subpoena rulings do not resolve whether such a lawsuit was filed or would succeed.
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