The Justice Department dropped its criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and Federal Reserve building renovations, clearing a major hurdle for Trump's nominee Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Fed chair. The probe focused on $600 million in cost overruns on a renovation project initially estimated at $1.9 billion that grew to $2.5 billion, which the Fed attributed to unforeseen asbestos, a sinkhole, and rising material costs. The White House immediately signaled the pressure continues — press secretary Leavitt said the investigation was 'not necessarily dropped' but 'moved to a different authority,' and the IG's office confirmed it's still reviewing the project costs. What's not in the headline: Trump had directly pressured Powell to cut interest rates and tour the construction site last summer to personally confront the Fed chair about costs, making this less a genuine fiscal accountability measure than a political maneuver to remove an impediment to Warsh's confirmation.