White House Increases Attacks On Powell Over Fed’s $2.5B Office Renovation

Officials in President Donald Trump’s administration and its allies are increasing their pressure campaign to oust Jerome Powell from the top of the Federal Reserve. 

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said during an interview Sunday that cost overruns during the ongoing controversial renovation of the central bank’s headquarters could provide a path to fire the Fed chairman. 

“The Fed has a lot to answer for,” Hassett said on ABC’s This Week. 

He called the renovation the most expensive project in the history of Washington, D.C. When asked if the high price tag could provide Trump grounds to dismiss Powell, Hassett replied, “That’s a thing that’s being looked into, but certainly, if there’s cause, he does.”

The comments add to a growing chorus of administration officials and their allies who have called for Powell to either cut interest rates or quit. Powell was appointed by Trump in 2017. His term ends in May 2026. 

The Fed chairman cannot be fired without cause, and Powell has repeatedly pledged to complete his full term regardless of whether the president tries to fire him. 

Powell is now facing scrutiny over a $2.5B renovation of three office buildings overlooking the National Mall occupied by the Fed. The high price tag and increasing costs were first highlighted by the Wall Street Journal in March 2023, but reemerged this June when Sen. Tim Scott, a Trump ally from South Carolina, accused Powell of lying to Congress about the project.

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, seized on the accusation and called for Jerome Powell to be investigated. He told his 3 million followers on social media that if the allegations proved true, they would give the administration the authority it needs to oust Powell. 

Pulte, who has attracted attention for his aggressive staffing moves at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said Friday that he was heartened to hear reports that Powell was considering leaving his post. 

“I’m encouraged by reports that Jerome Powell is considering resigning. I think this will be the right decision for America, and the economy will boom,” he said in a one-line news release despite a lack of reports in the media suggesting as much. 

The Fed chair has for months dismissed questions from reporters about his potential ouster as unrealistic, emphasizing his plans to complete his term.

On Monday, Axios reported that Powell has asked the Fed’s inspector general to review the headquarters renovation as Trump’s allies continue to use it as a means to pressure the chairman — who has one vote on the Federal Open Markets Committee that decides the Fed’s monetary policy.   

The inspector general’s office has already reviewed the project once before, according to Axios. The renovation was first approved in 2017 and involves the retrofitting of two historic buildings on Constitution Avenue. The refurbishment of a third building was completed as part of the project in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Calls for Powell’s resignation come as the White House and the Fed argue over the path of interest rates, with Trump bemoaning the central bank’s unwillingness to cut rates and bestowing Powell with the nickname “Too Late.” 

Powell and Fed officials say they remain committed to bringing inflation down to a long-held target of 2% while holding up the other side of its dual mandate of maximum employment. 

Inflation has run stubbornly above that rate since 2021, and Powell warned after the Fed’s April meeting that the president’s tariff regime was likely to make it harder to bring inflation down in the near term. 

“The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects,” he said.

Consumer price index readings for June are scheduled for release Tuesday.