Trump demands Powell leave Fed board after renovation report

US President Donald Trump called on Jerome Powell to resign from the Federal Reserve’s board on Wednesday, after a watchdog report criticised the management of a costly renovation of the central bank’s headquarters. Powell is no longer Fed chair, but his board term runs until January 2028. [1] [6]

In a Truth Social post, Trump blamed Powell for the project’s rising costs, said he had asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to study the report and urged the US government to sue Powell for corruption or incompetence if he did not resign. He predicted that the renovation could eventually cost $3.5 billion, possibly $4 billion. [1]

The Fed’s inspector general found substantial shortcomings in project oversight, but no reasonable grounds for a criminal-law referral and no breach of board policy warranting an administrative misconduct finding. The approved project budget rose from $1.317 billion in 2020 to $2.381 billion in 2024. The watchdog also found that the Fed did not obtain a project-wide estimate from its construction manager until January 2026, after awarding more than $2 billion in construction costs. It did not determine whether the total project costs were reasonable. [2]

Kevin Warsh succeeded Powell as Fed chair in May. Powell’s departure from that role did not end his separate term as a board member. [6] [7]