Fox Business anchor and former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow has made a public plea for his former Fox News colleague, Jeanine Pirro, to abandon her criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In comments made on Thursday, 16 January 2026, Kudlow stated he does not believe Powell is a criminal and suggested the inquiry was premature.
A Public Rebuke Over the Powell Probe
Speaking on air, Kudlow delivered a mild but firm rebuke of the investigation being led by Pirro, who serves as the District of Columbia US attorney. "I don't think he's a criminal," Kudlow said of the Fed chairman. He argued that "the District of Columbia jumped in too soon" and that "there's a lot of misunderstandings here." His intervention comes as the probe has sparked significant political friction, drawing criticism from both White House officials and Republican lawmakers who feel blindsided by Pirro's actions.
Powell himself has labelled the investigation as politically motivated, part of what he calls "the administration's threats and ongoing pressure." In response, Pirro has tried to soften the appearance of her inquiry, insisting she is merely seeking information about a renovation project that former President Donald Trump has accused Powell of mismanaging.
Political Distancing and 'Plausible Deniability'
Despite his own history of launching probes into political opponents, Donald Trump was quick to distance himself from the investigation into Powell, a figure he has frequently criticised for not cutting interest rates aggressively. On Sunday, 13 January 2026, Trump told reporters, "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."
Kudlow seized on this statement, noting on Fox News' America Reports that "the president is backing off, and he had plausible deniability Sunday night." He further emphasised the procedural weakness of the case, stating, "And of course, there is no grand jury, and there is no charge." Trump later told Reuters he had no plans to fire Powell amid the probe, saying it was "too early" to decide on any ultimate action.
Kudlow's Nuanced Position: Criticism Without Criminality
Kudlow was careful to frame his comments not as a defence of Powell's policies, which he lambasted as "woke" and indicative of "one of the worst Fed chairmen in history," but as a pragmatic argument against a federal criminal investigation. He stressed his long personal affection for Pirro but disagreed with her legal approach.
"In Washington, D.C., cost overruns are — that's the currency, there are not enough jails to throw people into for cost overruns, OK?" Kudlow remarked, downplaying the alleged misconduct. His proposed solution was for Powell's team to meet with Pirro, discuss the documentation issues, and then for the entire matter to be dropped. "Just drop the whole thing because he is gonna be gone in May," Kudlow concluded, referencing the end of Powell's term.
The public disagreement between two high-profile Fox personalities underscores the unusual and contentious nature of a criminal investigation into the sitting head of the United States' central bank, blending policy disputes with legal jeopardy.
