President Trump ramped up the pressure Thursday on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates during a joint inspection of the central bank’s renovation project for its headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
Although the Fed is self-funded and does not rely on appropriations from Congress, Trump has complained about the rising cost of the renovation project and hinted that it could be grounds for dismissal of the Fed chief, whose current term runs through May 2026 and who can be removed only for cause before that date. Trump has raged about Powell’s refusal to lower interest rates, as Trump wants, and some see his sudden interest in the Fed’s years-long renovation project as a ploy to fire Powell and replace him with a more deferential leader.
As they walked down a hallway clearly under construction, Trump claimed that the cost of the renovation has now risen to $3.1 billion — a claim Powell disputed. An early cost estimate in 2021 was about $1.9 billion for the renovation, a figure that has now risen to roughly $2.5 billion. The Fed says the increase has been driven by unforeseen problems with asbestos removal from the nearly 90-year-old building and the construction of a multi-story underground garage, as well as the general rise in construction costs during the pandemic, and not by extravagance or incompetence, as Trump and some White House officials have charged.
Powell shook his head as Trump repeated the claim, even as Trump handed over a document that supposedly proved that the project now cost $3.1 billion. Powell quickly reviewed the paper and said that Trump’s higher figure included the cost of a building that had been completed five years ago.
Still, Trump continued to project the weary irritation of a boss whose underling can’t get a problem solved. Asked by a reporter what he would do as a real estate developer to a manager who went over budget, Trump said with relish, “I’d fire ‘em.”
Trump then shifted to what appears to be his primary interest. Asked what Powell could do to end the barrage of criticism the president has offered recently — criticism that includes calling the Fed chair a “numbskull,” a “complete moron” and a “major loser” — Trump said simply, “I'd love him to lower interest rates.”
Powell just chuckled.