The 'No Kings' Crowd Defends Fed Monarch Under Investigation

Some kings, apparently, are better than others—or at least worthy of defending based on which side of President Donald Trump the actual king currently sits.

News reports published Sunday evening disclosed the Department of Justice’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for making false statements to Congress last year related to the multi-billion renovation of two Fed buildings in Washington. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, opened the inquiry last November; she recently sent grand jury subpoenas to the central bank’s headquarters seeking budget records and other communications pertaining to the project, which ballooned from $1.9 billion to over $2.5 billion and counting on Powell’s watch.

Appointed by Trump in 2017 and reappointed by Joe Biden in 2021, Powell has been on the president’s naughty list for months over his refusal to substantially lower interest rates last year, which crippled the housing market as well as Trump’s plans to significantly boost the economy during his first year in office. (The president also removed Lisa Cook, a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, over allegations of mortgage fraud. Her firing is on hold pending oral arguments at the Supreme Court later this month in her lawsuit seeking to keep her ten-year appointment.)

Trump and Powell appeared together last July in a tension-filled media tour at one of the construction sites; Trump confronted the banking boss with a list of the project’s cost overruns, which Powell quickly denied.

Shortly after the news broke about the investigation, Powell posted a video statement suggesting the investigation represented “political pressure [and] intimidation” from the president in an attempt to influence fed monetary policy:

Defensive Much?

But Powell doth protest a bit too much—and it isn’t the first time he got testy over the billion-dollar boondoggle. Powell indignantly and specifically disputed various aspects of the renovation’s extravagance to Sen. Mike Rounds during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in June 2025:

He doubled down when further questioned by Sen. Tim Scott:

But Powell’s sworn statements contradict renovation plans, which were approved in 2021. Contrary to what the fed chairman told Congress, the project indeed involves rooftop terrace gardens, new water features, extensive amounts of new building material including marble, and what appears to be a very opulent VIP dining lounge. (Project documents are here and here.)

And aside from Powell’s denial of specific elements, a bigger question is at play: why does the country’s central bank need to build a Taj Fed when many Americans are suffering under the policies imposed by that very institution? Further, whose nest is being feathered with all this unaccountable cash?

Powell’s Taj Fed Suitable for a King!

Those questions, and many more, are of no interest to the “No Kings” crowd, which immediately swooped in to defend Powell’s honor. Launched several weeks after Trump’s inauguration last year, the “No Kings” movement has held nationwide demonstrations to protest the purported monarchical reign of the 47th president. “Donald Trump’s policies have demonstrated the dangers of authoritarian leadership,” the group’s manifesto reads. “Through executive overreach, the dismantling of democratic institutions, and the installation of unelected billionaires into positions of power, we have witnessed a direct assault on democracy. We refuse to accept a government that prioritizes self-interest, corruption, and authoritarian rule. Leaders must be accountable to the people—not to their own ambition.”

But that description is more than apt for Powell, the unelected head of an enormously influential institution. Despite the argument that the Federal Reserve is an “independent” agency, no such fourth branch exists in the U.S Constitution, as the Trump DOJ continues to explain in lawsuits related to other self-proclaimed “independent” agencies the president is attempting to reform.

Further, the Fed makes decisions that impact Americans on a daily basis: “The Federal Reserve System performs five key functions that serve all Americans and promote the health and stability of the U.S. economy and financial system,” its website boasts. “It conducts the nation’s monetary policy, promotes financial system stability, supervises and regulates financial institutions, fosters payment and settlement system safety and efficiency, and promotes consumer protection and community development.”

And while the Fed does not directly receive tax dollars, the institution is funded by a confusing (and hard to identify) labyrinth of sources such as interest on Fed-owned government securities (Treasury bonds, etc.) and user fees paid by banking customers for a variety of transactions. So while the Fed’s funding is not appropriated by Congress, it is folly to say the agency is not funded by the public.

Serving Their Real Master: Hatred for Trump

So the opaque, unaccountable, flush, profligate, and powerful fiefdom of the Federal Reserve should make for a top target of the “No Kings” whiners. That, however, is not the case. Loyal subjects to King Powell quickly and publicly professed their undying loyalty.

That included none other than Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, a longtime Trump foe, and financial sponsor of the “No Kings” organization:

Dozens of similarly supportive posts popped up from Obama bros, Democratic senators, and NeverTrumpers who spent every day warning the country about the alleged threat posed by dictator/monarch/authoritarian/Hitler/Stalin/etc Donald Trump and reminding everyone that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!

It appears that all it takes to accept a king is to put him under investigation by the Trump DOJ.