Trump Calls for Jerome Powell to Step Down
Trump said he had asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to review an inspector general's report on the project.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump cited findings of management deficiencies in the Washington, DC, renovation and accused Powell of failing to rein in costs.
"This is Jerome Powell's fault, and he should be forced to resign, IMMEDIATELY!" Trump wrote.
He said he had told Blanche to study the report and decide what action to take over a project that, according to the post, would cost at least $2.5 billion.
Trump warned of legal action if Powell refused to leave, saying the US government should sue him "for either corruption or incompetence."
The inspector general's review, however, found no grounds for a criminal referral and no administrative misconduct, though it identified significant shortcomings in the Fed's oversight of the work.
Powell remains a Fed governor after his term as chair ended in May.
Trump highlighted passages saying the Fed board did not get a project cost estimate from its construction manager until January 2026. That was three-and-a-half years after construction began and after more than $2 billion in construction costs had been awarded.
Per the passages quoted in his post, the board had also not set a guaranteed maximum price by July 2026, leaving it without cost certainty and without shifting material risk to the construction manager.
Trump predicted the final bill could hit $3.5 billion or $4 billion. He claimed he could have finished the job for $25 million while preserving the buildings' historic look.
Dispute over interest rates
The renovation has become a flashpoint in Trump's wider clash with Powell over interest rates and the central bank's independence.
In January, Powell disclosed that the Justice Department had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment tied to his June 2025 Senate testimony on the renovation. He said the threat grew out of the Fed setting rates based on its reading of economic conditions rather than the president's preferences, and he called the renovation and his testimony pretexts for pressure.
In April, Powell said the Justice Department had assured him it would not reopen the investigation without a criminal referral from the Fed's inspector general.
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