President Donald Trump used a rare visit to the Federal Reserve on Thursday to renew his pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell over renovation costs, which he claimed had ballooned to $3.1 billion. The visit allowed Trump to inspect the ongoing $2.5 billion renovation at the Fed’s headquarters.
Powell has been under scrutiny for managing the project, beset by cost overruns. White House officials have suggested that removing Powell could be a pretext after a Supreme Court ruling indicated that Trump’s powers over executive branch officials do not necessarily apply to the Federal Reserve.
During his remarks, Trump handed Powell a piece of paper detailing an estimate of construction costs and informed him that a 5-year-old project was included in the figure. The Fed chair quickly read it and explained that the project had been previously accounted for.
Trump expressed frustration with the renovations, calling them “lavish” and “ostentatious.” However, Powell’s management of the project has been defended by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who stated that Powell is a good public servant.
The visit came as Trump continues to push for lower interest rates to boost economic activity. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its next policy meeting in six days.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/trump-visit-federal-reserve-powell-pressure-rcna220765