Jerome Powell Calls For Review Of $2.5B Fed Headquarters Project After Trump’s Blistering Criticism

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday called for a review of the central bank’s building expansion project, after a bout of blistering criticism from President Donald Trump and other officials from the administration.

Powell asked the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, to review the $2.5 billion renovation project’s costs and any related matters he deems fit, according to a report by Axios. The IG’s office has already reviewed the project before, but Powell’s request comes amid scathing criticism from the Trump administration over the project’s costs.

The Fed also posted an explainer on its website over the weekend, explaining that its board is generally not subject to the National Capital Planning Commission's directions on building projects.

This follows the installation of several Trump administration officials to posts in the NCPC, including its chairman. White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf currently leads NCPC.

Over the weekend, Trump sharpened his attacks on Powell, after a spate of name-calling and public expression of his desire for the Fed Chair to resign.

“Jerome Powell has been very bad for our country. We should have the lowest interest rates on Earth and we don't,” Trump told reporters.

“And yet he is spending $2.5 billion rebuilding the Federal Reserve building,” he said, adding to the growing criticism of the Fed’s expansion project.

Earlier this month, the President said Powell is costing the U.S. $1 trillion a year by not cutting interest rates.

Trump asked for “Too Late” Powell to “resign immediately” in a post on Truth Social, citing Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte’s comments calling for an investigation by Congress into the Fed Chair.

Powell, on his part, blamed President Trump’s tariffs for not cutting rates.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up after a negative start on Monday.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.11%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.35%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past week.

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