Subpoenas against Fed chair Powell tossed in a scathing opinion

What they're saying: "There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will," Judge Boasberg wrote in his opinion.

• "On the other side of the scale, the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President," Boasberg added.

What to watch: The Department of Justice said it planned to appeal the decision, extending the unprecedented battle between the government and the Fed — and potentially prolonging the confirmation of Trump's next pick to lead the central bank, Kevin Warsh.

• "No one, folks, is above the law, and this outrageous decision will be appealed by the United States Department of Justice," Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said during a news conference on Friday.
• A Federal Reserve spokesperson declined to comment.

The intrigue: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), an important lawmaker on the Senate Banking panel, doubled down Friday on his refusal to support Warsh unless the DOJ drops the Powell investigation. Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May.

• "We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on," Tillis said in a statement posted on X.
• "Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair," he added.

Between the lines: Any Fed official needs to be confirmed by the Senate Banking Committee, where Republicans have just a two-seat majority. Tillis has the power to derail the nomination, assuming all Democrats vote "no."

Flashback: The Fed disclosed in January that it had received grand jury subpoenas over the central bank's multibillion-dollar building renovations.

• Powell said at the time that the administration's reasons for investigating the Fed were "pretexts" — language that was echoed in the judge's opinion on Friday.
• "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," Powell said then in a rare public statement.

• Axios reported in January that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told President Trump that the investigation "made a mess" and threatened financial markets — remarks that suggest top economic officials were wary about the subpoenas.

Zoom out: Speaking to reporters on Friday, Pirro said the investigation process had been "arbitrarily undermined by an activist judge."

• Boasberg's 27-page opinion was blunt, saying that the government had very little evidence to back up its claims and that the effort was aimed solely at pressuring the Fed.
• "When the evidence of improper motive is so strong and the justifications for these subpoenas are so tenuous, it is hard to see the renovations and testimony as anything other than a convenient pretext for launching a criminal investigation that the Government launched for another, unstated purpose: pressuring Powell to knuckle under," the judge wrote.
• The harassment "seems aimed at bulldozing the Fed's statutory independence," he continued.

The bottom line: The DOJ is charging ahead with efforts to investigate the Fed in ways that could undermine the central bank's independence — and delay confirmation of Trump's Fed chair nominee, Warsh.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout.