Fed Scandal Explodes: GOP’s Luna Wants Powell Behind Bars for $2.5B HQ Lies
‘When you lie to Congress to enrich a government agency, you answer to the law,’ thundered Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Monday as she dropped her bombshell DOJ referral targeting Jerome Powell.
Elite Fed Exposé: Powell’s Truth Crisis on Costly HQ Project Stuns D.C.
Washington has erupted with outrage as Republican firebrand Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) officially referred Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Department of Justice for possible perjury and making false statements under oath about the jaw-dropping $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building.
On June 25, Powell, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, adamantly denied the inclusion of luxury features such as VIP dining rooms, marble upgrades, and rooftop terraces in the costly project-a project funded by taxpayers already feeling the squeeze of D.C. largesse. But Luna now says Powell’s statements directly contradict official planning documents, potentially setting the stage for a criminal probe that could shake the entire central banking system.
As Luna’s referral letter roiled Washington, loud voices from conservative media to everyday Americans online blasted what they call ‘another case of swamp elites abusing public money and lying about it.’ The social backlash has intensified after years of frustration with the Fed’s closed-door culture and ever-expanding reach into the American economy.
“Powell lawyered up for a reason. Americans want accountability at the top, and Luna is fighting for us,” wrote one widely-shared post on X (formerly Twitter) Monday afternoon.
President Trump’s allies wasted no time framing Luna’s referral as a test for the Justice Department’s independence after years of Democrats targeting conservatives over far less egregious offenses. The message is clear: There’s a new sheriff in town-and the days of unelected bureaucrats evading scrutiny are over.
‘Materially False’: Luna’s Legal Salvo Targets Fed Chair’s Luxury Denials
In her scathing letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Luna highlights what she calls ‘materially false and misleading’ testimony by Powell regarding the headquarters renovation. Powell not only swore there were no luxury upgrades like VIP dining rooms or beehives, but also reassured lawmakers that the price tag did not reflect runaway spending.
Yet, newly surfaced project documents, submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, paint a radically different picture. The files confirm exactly the features Powell denied: private dining facilities for governors, a special elevator, lavish marble, serene water features, roof gardens, and even beehives-frills Americans might expect in a Silicon Valley tech palace, not the headquarters of the nation’s central bank. The ugly reality: Washington bureaucrats are living large, and the coverup is unraveling.
The legal language in Luna’s referral isn’t subtle: ‘The seriousness of testifying falsely under oath cannot be overstated, particularly from the individual overseeing our monetary system and taxpayer assets.’ By publicly calling out Powell and demanding DOJ confirmation of a criminal probe, Luna may have set the stage for an unprecedented showdown at the heart of federal power.
Republicans are describing this as a new low for transparency: ‘If Powell can’t be honest about a construction budget, how can we trust the Fed on interest rates or inflation?’
Political strategists point out that under federal law, lying under oath is a crime that has taken down lesser public officials before. And with the Biden DOJ under pressure to show ‘fairness,’ the question isn’t just whether Powell will face charges-it’s whether the public can stomach another Washington scandal while working families struggle to make ends meet.
Big Government Under Fire: $2.5B Fed Makeover Adds Fuel to Conservative Outrage
Long before Luna’s DOJ referral, conservatives were raising the alarm over the bloated price tag and secrecy surrounding the Federal Reserve’s D.C. headquarters project. At $2.5 billion and counting, the so-called ‘renovation’ has become symbolic of the D.C. spending machine that treats taxpayer money like a bottomless slush fund.
Critics note that the Fed has gone into damage control mode, scrambling to justify its spending by releasing a choreographed video tour of the project after the Trump administration put the agency under the microscope. But for conservatives, these PR moves ring hollow against a mountain of growing evidence and, now, possible perjury at the highest level.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added fuel to the fire this week, demanding a full-scale review of the Federal Reserve’s leadership and transparency amid persistent high inflation and tariff battles. ‘The Fed must answer for both its spending and its policies,’ Bessent told reporters.
This scandal comes as President Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans have ramped up calls for Powell’s resignation, already furious over his refusal to lower interest rates while families contend with inflation and a shaky recovery. While Luna’s DOJ referral is her own move, the whisper in Washington is that this could pave the way for Trump to finally replace Powell ahead of his 2026 term expiration-a move base voters are demanding as the next election looms.
The fierce competition over who controls America’s money supply just became front-page news. With Democrats busy defending Powell as an ‘apolitical technocrat,’ Republicans argue that unchecked spending, opaque operations, and now the threat of perjury, expose everything wrong with what they call the corrupt D.C. elite class.
Expect this scandal to dominate Sunday shows and campaign rallies. Trump’s pledge to “Drain the Swamp” is ringing louder than ever, and conservatives are betting that this dogfight over the Fed’s excess could galvanize voters across red states and beyond in the pivotal 2026 midterms.
