2026-01-12T22:49:25.642Z
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is facing a DOJ investigation over office renovations.
Powell’s video response sparked a wave of meme-filled jokes online.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted the Fed’s independence.
The internet has a surprising new muse: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell is famously mild-mannered. About four times a year, he emerges from meetings with Federal Reserve governors and regional bank presidents to hold press conferences on their analysis of jobs data, inflation reports, and subsequent interest rate projections (the infamous “dot plot”).
Not exactly typical fodder for going viral. But on Monday, after Powell released a video saying he’d been subpoenaed by the Justice Department as part of a pressure campaign, he started getting the meme treatment.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy,” Powell said in Sunday’s two-minute video. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
Social media thought it was a banger.
Here are some of the notable reactions so far:
President Donald Trump has called on Powell, whose term doesn’t end until May 2026, to lower interest rates more quickly. Powell has refused and insisted on the Fed’s independence. Trump has also repeatedly threatened to fire Powell.
The president denied any involvement in the DOJ investigation in an interview with NBC on Monday. “I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” Trump said.
