President Donald Trump used a rare visit to the Federal Reserve on Thursday to renew his pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, telling reporters that costs to renovate the Fed’s buildings were exorbitant.
Powell shook his head at times during the president’s remarks.
Wearing a hard hat while surrounded by the ongoing renovations that have become the subject of Republicans’ scrutiny, the president said the construction cost had ballooned to “about $3.1 billion.”
Powell shook his head, saying, “I haven’t heard that.”
The renovations to the Fed had made few headlines until two weeks ago when Trump’s budget chief, Russell Vought, vowed to investigate the project. The visit allowed Trump to inspect the $2.5 billion renovation underway at the Fed’s headquarters. Powell’s management of the project, beset by cost overruns, has been raised by White House officials as a possible pretext for removing him after a Supreme Court ruling indicated the president’s powers over executive branch officials do not necessarily apply to the Federal Reserve.
At one point, Trump handed Powell a piece of paper. The Fed chair quickly read it and informed Trump that he was including a 5-year-old project in that elevated cost.
Asked by a reporter if the construction project appeared to be a fireable offense, Trump said, “I don’t want to put that in this category.”
Trump added, “I just don’t think it’s necessary” to fire him.
Trump’s appearance came as he has continued to batter Powell publicly. Trump favors lowering interest rates to boost activity in the economy. But Powell has said that forecasts of faster price growth, largely a result of Trump’s tariffs, suggest interest rates should remain at their current levels to keep inflation in check. Earlier this month, Powell said the Fed would have cut rates by now if not for the expected impact of Trump’s import taxes.
At Thursday’s visit, reporters asked Trump if there was anything Powell could do to get Trump to “back off some of the earlier criticism.” Trump said “lower rates,” as he slapped Powell’s back in a friendly matter.
“He’s showing us around, showing us the work. ... I don’t want to be personal. I would just like to see it get finished,” Trump added.
Trump said during the tour he discussed interest rates with Powell in a “productive talk.” Trump said Powell would describe his views at the next Fed news conference.
The Fed will announce its next rate decision at the end of its next policy meeting in six days, and it’s expected to leave them unchanged again. Powell will hold a news conference after the rate decision.
The change in tone comes after it appeared that Trump was on the brink of attempting to fire Powell last week, after floating the idea to Republicans. A White House official told NBC News the following day that it was likely Trump would fire Powell soon. But Trump backed off the idea, saying it was “unlikely” but “I don’t rule out anything.”
As Trump has flirted with the idea in an on-again-off-again fashion, the value of the U.S. dollar has slid 10%.
It was not clear when the visit was added to Trump’s schedule, which was released late Wednesday night. The White House spent the first part of this week downplaying speculation that the president would fire Powell, even as Trump continued to harangue him on social media for leaving interest rates unchanged. Trump appointed Powell in his first term.
“There’s nothing that tells me that [Powell] should step down right now. He’s been a good public servant,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on Tuesday. Later that day, Trump said he believes that Powell has “done a bad job” but noted that Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends in May, will “be out pretty soon anyway.” On Wednesday, Bessent said on MSNBC that Trump isn’t going to fire Powell.
Presidential visits to the Fed’s main building, a short drive from the White House, are rare. The last president to do so was George W. Bush, who attended the 2006 swearing-in ceremony of his former economic adviser, Ben Bernanke, as chair. Only two other presidents have made the trip: Gerald Ford in 1975 and Franklin D. Roosevelt to inaugurate the building in 1937.
Administration officials have decried the cost of the renovation project, saying the Fed is spending billions on a “lavish” and “ostentatious” palace containing VIP dining rooms, terraces, fancy elevators and high-end marble.
However, Powell and the central bank have repeatedly said the features of the renovation that the White House and Republicans have seized on are misleading.
On June 25, Powell told the Senate banking committee: “There’s no [VIP] dining room. There’s no new marble. We took down the old marble, we’re putting it back up. We’ll have to use new marble where some of the old marble broke. But there’s no special elevators. There’s just old elevators that have been there.”
The Fed launched an FAQ page on its website that says that rising costs associated with the project are due primarily to the cost of raw materials, consultations with review agencies and the building containing more asbestos than anticipated.
Those review agencies, of which Trump appointees were members, also pushed for more marble in the renovation plans rather than glass.
Later on, Trump appeared to have been somewhat assuaged by the visit.
“There’s always Monday morning quarterbacking. I don’t want to be that,” Trump said, adding that the renovation appeared to him to be a “luxurious situation.” Trump was asked if he observed any mismanagement and did not directly answer the question, but offered a rosy assessment of his relationship with Powell.
“No tension,” Trump said. “No tension here.”
After Trump departed from the construction site, he posted on Truth Social that it "would have been much better if it were never started" but "I'll be watching and, hopefully, adding some expertise."
