President Donald Trump made an unusual visit to the Federal Reserve Thursday, donning a hardhat and being led on a tour of the construction site by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cap weeks of mounting criticisms over a $2.5 billion renovation project.
"Were just taking a look at what's happening," the president said, acknowledging the complexity of the multi-year renovation project. He also continued to distance himself from efforts to fire Powell, saying repeatedly that this was just about gathering information and "I don't want to be personal."
Asked what might lead him to back off his barrage of critiques of Powell that Trump has been leveling for weeks, the president said "I'd love him to lower interest rates," before patting Powell on the back.
The high-profile construction project — which started in mid-2022 and is on track to be completed by 2027 — was also toured by Senators Tim Scott and Thom Tillis, as well as Trump's budget director, his White House deputy chief of staff, his director of federal housing, and others.
It was a visit that also saw White House and Federal Reserve officials continue to talk past each other, as the president and his deputy chief of staff unveiled a new charge that the site had ballooned further to $3.1 billion "according to the Fed's own internal records." Powell shook his head when Trump repeated the charge Thursday.
Trump then produced a piece of paper that Powell looked at briefly. Powell said that new figure added in the renovation of a third building — the William McChesney Martin building — that was finished years ago.
"It's not new," Powell said, standing alongside the president.
The back and forth comes as Powell is set to gather the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week for another interest rate decision.
Markets and many analysts say Trump's move is the latest in an almost daily pressure campaign to urge the central banker and his colleagues to cut interest rates.
The visit came after Federal Reserve staff gave reporters a tour of the building earlier in the day to buttress their assertion that there were only two deviations from the National Capital Planning Commission approved plan — the removal of seating on the roof of one building and the removal of plans for water fountains in front of a second building.
The Fed also pushed back against some of the more claims of outlandish amenities, like private dining rooms and "VIP elevators," that have never been planned.
Thurday's visit was just one of numerous political pressure points being put before Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell by Trump and his team — even as the latest rhetoric from the president and Treasury Secretary Bessent has downplayed the chances of any imminent attempt to fire the central banker.
"In eight months, he'll be out," Trump noted on Tuesday, with Bessent adding Wednesday in various television appearances that "we're in no rush" to change leadership and that a new chair nominee would be announced in December or January.
The focus for today on on the ongoing construction of the Federal Reserve headquarters amid critiques from newly appointed Trump allies on the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) that could go so far as to seek to stop ongoing construction pending further review.
The central bank has repeatedly defended itself against the charges, even publishing a page on its website devoted to the renovations. It says the increased costs came because of increased material costs and "unforeseen conditions" like asbestos, toxic contamination in the soil, and a higher-than-expected water table.
The two buildings, Powell added in a recent note, were in need of "significant structural repairs" after not having a comprehensive renovation since they were built in the 1930s.
For now, Trump offered muted comments and even acknowledged some of the complexities of the project, much of which requires expensive new digging.
Other key pressure points
In the coming weeks, Powell will wrestle with calls for an "exhaustive internal review" of the Fed's operations and pressure from Republicans on Capitol Hill that could ramp up in the fall.
"We just want to know why," Senator Tim Scott added Thursday.
The Fed got another new headache Thursday when a money manager — and Trump ally who recently served as an adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency — filed a lawsuit arguing the central bank is violating a 1976 federal law by keeping its policy meetings behind closed doors.
There's even a long-shot call for the Department of Justice to get involved and look at Powell personally.
Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania is a subcommittee chair on the House Financial Services Committee is also reportedly moving forward with a congressional investigation of the Fed — even as many of his Senate colleagues have shied away from that idea.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, another Trump ally, formally requested that the DOJ investigate Powell for perjury over June comments about the renovations. That is seen as a long shot at best.
Perhaps more pressing is that House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg reporters and editors this week that he is "disenchanted" with Powell and is even open to modifying the 1913 act that created the Fed.
That would be a major change, but it is not expected to be before Congress in the near term, as the House of Representatives went home Wednesday evening for a recess that is scheduled to last for the rest of the summer.
Republican Sen. Tim Scott — who asked Powell about the Fed's renovations during a June 25 hearing — sent Powell a letter Wednesday asking for more questions to be answered by Aug. 8. He said there were "distinct differences" between public plans about the renovation, Powell's testimony, and what the Fed has said on its website.
Treasury Secretary Bessent has also called for an "exhaustive internal review" of the Fed, saying it could be Powell's "legacy," as he accused the central bank of mission creep in its non-monetary policy activities.