<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should resign from the central bank\u2019s Board of Governors over findings the central bank mismanaged the renovation of its headquarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Building is over budget, at a Record Setting rate and, at a minimum, \u2018Too Late\u2019 Powell should be forced to resign from the Board,\u201d the president posted Wednesday on social media, using a derisive nickname he\u2019s long used for Powell.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s remarks came after the Fed\u2019s internal watchdog, in a report released Wednesday, found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and didn\u2019t identify any \u201cadministrative misconduct\u201d connected to the $2.4 billion project.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the report outlined a series of management missteps that caused the project\u2019s cost to balloon from the initial estimates of $1.3 billion in 2020.<\/p>\n
The president said he had directed Attorney General Todd Blanche to study the inspector general\u2019s report \u201cand make a determination as to what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Fed Governor and former Chair Jerome Powell during his nomination announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on November 2, 2017.<\/p>\n
During Powell\u2019s tenure leading the central bank, the president repeatedly criticised him over monetary policy and used the Fed\u2019s headquarters renovation as a cudgel against him. Powell resisted Trump\u2019s efforts to push him out of office, including threats to fire him. He also broke with tradition when he decided to remain at the Fed as a governor after his second term as chair expired in May. His term as a governor runs to January 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Jerome Powell\u2019s fault, and he should be forced to resign, IMMEDIATELY! If he doesn\u2019t resign, he should be sued, at the highest level, by the United States Government, for either corruption or incompetence, both of which are completely unacceptable,\u201d Trump posted.<\/p>\n
A Fed spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n
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The renovation of the central bank\u2019s Washington headquarters has long been a flashpoint between the Fed and the Trump administration as the president pushed for lower interest rates last year. Near the start of 2026 it prompted a controversial investigation with the Justice Department pursuing a potential indictment against Powell. Wednesday\u2019s report appeared to put to rest the prospect for criminal charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt no point during our evaluation did we find reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of federal criminal law had occurred requiring a referral to the US Attorney General in accordance with the Inspector General Act,\u201d the Fed\u2019s Office of Inspector General said.<\/p>\n
The report did, however, point to multiple management failures.<\/p>\n
The watchdog found the Fed\u2019s board didn\u2019t act on failings linked to cost overruns on a previous project and didn\u2019t implement a recommendation to impose a stated cost limitation. It also didn\u2019t ask for a construction cost estimate.<\/p>\n
As recently as July, four years after the project began and after tenders had been awarded, the Fed had not established a guaranteed maximum price. Other issues highlighted by the OIG included substantial cost increases due to a lack of bids for some work and internal governance that, according to the report, wasn\u2019t equipped to run a project of this magnitude and complexity.<\/p>\n
Design changes, site conditions and inflation were other factors cited by the OIG. The Fed has said the cost of the renovation had a great deal to do with the challenges of building \u2014 particularly underground \u2014 in what was once a swamp near the Tidal Basin along the Potomac River.<\/p>\n
In a response included with the Inspector General\u2019s report, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said the central bank would implement its recommendations and that the General Services Administration, which helps manage federal government buildings, will become project executive, and work with the central bank to finish the project, reporting to the Board of Governors and to Warsh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are important lessons to be learned, and those lessons, combined with your conclusions and with recommendations from GSA, will have permanent value for our successors on the Board of Governors,\u201d Warsh wrote in a letter to Michael Horowitz, the IG who was appointed to the job by Powell in June 2025.<\/p>\n
The Fed will also engage an independent auditor to scrutinise all awarded costs to date, Warsh said. Asked in the Oval Office if he expected Warsh to help oust Powell, Trump said the new Fed chair would \u201cdo his own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Major public works projects often wind up costing more than originally planned, sometimes far more. For instance, it took $14.8 billion to complete the massive highway and tunnel project in Boston known as the Big Dig. The original estimate: about $2.6 billion.<\/p>\n
Back in Washington, Trump tore down the East Wing of the White House last year to build a 900-square-foot ballroom that his team initially said would cost $200 million. It is now projected to cost $600 million or more. The president repeatedly says the project is ahead of schedule and under budget.<\/p>\n
While Trump didn\u2019t threaten to dismiss Powell, the response highlights continued White House pressure to re-shape the Fed\u2019s policy-making board, said Mark Spindel, founder of Potomac River Capital and a co-author of a book on the Fed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s frustration with Powell is unbounded as is his desire to control the Federal Reserve,\u201d Spindel said. \u201cNevertheless, there are political actors, Congress and the courts that have supported the Fed and will continue to do so in the face of Trump\u2019s unrelenting pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fed governors are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. A provision in the Federal Reserve Act bars presidential removal of governors except \u201cfor cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kathryn Judge, a Columbia University law professor who studies the Fed, noted the OIG report makes little mention of the role Powell played in overseeing the renovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no easy answer to how much time the Fed chair should spend on this type of oversight given the many other obligations on his plate,\u201d Judge said.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Trump #Powell #forced #resign #Fed #board<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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