Trump aide plays down probe of Fed chair Powell

White House adviser Kevin Hassett played down ⁠the federal criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, saying he expected there would be "nothing ‍to see here".

The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation into Powell over cost ‌overruns for a $2.5 billion project ‍to renovate two historical buildings at the Fed's headquarters complex. Powell, who disclosed the probe on Sunday, denies wrongdoing, and said the unprecedented actions were a pretext to put pressure on him for not satisfying U.S. President Donald Trump's long-running demands for sharply lower interest rates.

Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council who is a candidate to replace Powell, said ⁠in an interview with Fox Business Network that he wished there had been more transparency from the Fed about cost overruns of building renovations.

"The bottom line is, I expect, you know, Jay is a good man - I expect that there's nothing to see here, that the cost overruns are ‌related to things like asbestos, as he says. But I sure wish they had been more transparent," Hassett said.

The probe drew criticism from foreign economic officials, investors and former ‍U.S. government officials from both political parties - as well as lawmakers in Trump's own Republican ‍Party, as politicizing ‍sensitive policymaking.

Powell's term as Fed chair ⁠ends in May. Trump ‍has yet to announce a replacement.

Hassett tried to minimize the federal criminal probe as a "simple request for information".

"I'm sure the information will be forthcoming shortly, and then things ⁠will move ‌forward," he told "Mornings with Maria."