GOP Senator Suggests Powell Resign To Avoid Indictment — Critics Call It Extortion

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a development many observers link to Powell’s refusal to accede to former President Donald Trump’s requests on interest-rate policy. Critics say the inquiry looks politically motivated and poses a threat to the Fed’s independence.

Most congressional Republicans and Democrats quickly condemned the probe as inappropriate. One GOP senator, however, offered a markedly different response.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) suggested on Fox Business that Powell should resign to avoid indictment: “If you’re the attorney for Jay Powell and you want to avoid an indictment, how about you go to Jeanine Pirro and say, ‘I’ll make a deal. I’ll step down today, if you’ll drop the investigation today.’ To me, that would be a win-win for everybody.”

Cramer reiterated the idea on CNBC the following day and described such an outcome as an “elegant” solution. There was little sign his remarks were meant as a joke.

Put in context, Cramer’s proposal would amount to using the threat of criminal prosecution to secure a political concession: Powell would resign, giving the president his preferred personnel outcome, and the Justice Department would abandon the inquiry. That arrangement—trading official action for personal or political benefit—fits common definitions of extortion and raises profound legal and ethical concerns.

Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, during the Federal Reserve Board open meeting in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. The Federal Reserve has shown other US regulators the outlines of a revised plan that would dramatically relax a Biden-era bank capital proposal for Wall Streets largest lenders, according to people familiar with the matter. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images(Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

To underscore the danger of normalizing this approach, consider a reversal: imagine a future Democratic president seeking Sen. Cramer’s resignation and pursuing a plainly pretextual investigation when he refused. It is unlikely Cramer would welcome an adviser publicly recommending he step down to avoid prosecution. The hypothetical highlights a double standard and the broader risk to democratic norms if law enforcement is used as a bargaining chip.

Legal scholars and ethicists warn that leveraging the Department of Justice to achieve political ends would erode public trust in both the justice system and the Federal Reserve, whose independence is central to sound monetary policy. Many lawmakers from both parties have urged that investigations remain free from political influence and that officials be protected from retaliatory probes for performing their duties.

Why it matters: If the justice system becomes a tool for settling political disputes, the consequences for governance, market stability, and the rule of law could be severe. Observers say the episode should prompt renewed commitments to maintain the independence of the Fed and the impartiality of law enforcement.

Originally published on MS NOW.