President Donald Trump reversed his opposition to the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation of its headquarters after touring the Washington, D.C., project site on Thursday.
The massive and costly development of two of the Fed’s historic buildings became the latest sticking point between Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell earlier this month after the Central Bank’s chief had long attracted the president’s outrage due to his refusal to lower interest rates.
However, examining the worksite in person seemed to soothe Trump, a longtime builder known for large-scale renovation projects such as Washington, D.C.’s historic Post Office and the iconic Hotel Delmonico in Manhattan.
After an at-times tense walk-around on the site with Powell, Trump sent out a message on Truth Social approving the project, which he had previously described as “really disgraceful” due to its multibillion-dollar price tag.
“It was a Great Honor to tour the Renovation (and some new Construction!) of the Federal Reserve Building with Chairman Jerome Powell,” the president said. “It’s got a long way to go, would have been much better if it were never started, but it is what it is and, hopefully, it will be finished ASAP. The cost overruns are substantial but, on the positive side, our Country is doing very well and can afford just about anything — Even the cost of this building!”
“I’ll be watching and, hopefully, adding some expertise,” he added. “As everyone knows, I renovated the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it was a roaring SUCCESS. The total Construction cost was a small fraction of the Fed Building’s cost, and it is many times the size. With all of that being said, let’s just get it finished and, even more importantly, LOWER INTEREST RATES!”
Trump’s reluctant approval comes as a reversal of sorts, after Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought sent a letter to Powell about the Fed’s renovation project and claimed the president was “extremely troubled” by his management of the central bank.
Powell responded with his own letter defending the development and saying the two historic buildings being renovated needed “significant structural repairs and other updates … including the removal of asbestos and lead contamination, complete replacement of antiquated systems such as electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, as well as fire detection and -2- suppression systems.”
Trump has on and off publicly mused over firing the Fed chairman, although he has backed off on the idea in recent weeks, saying on July 16 that carrying out such an action was “highly unlikely.”
On Thursday, despite reiterating his frustration with the central bank and continuing calls for lower interest rates, Trump called the notion of firing Powell a “big move” that would not be “necessary.”
Standing next to Powell, whom the president called one of his “worst appointments” just one week ago, Trump insisted there was “no tension” between the two, telling reporters he “feels good” about his relationship with the Fed chairman.
Trump named one dispute the battle over interest rates, adding that he was confident “the chairman is going to do the right thing” about lowering rates.
BESSENT EYES GOVERNMENT REVIEW OF FED AS TRUMP WEIGHS FIRING POWELL
Earlier this month, Powell signaled he would not rule out a rate cut as soon as the Fed’s next meeting on July 29.
“I wouldn’t take any meeting off the table or put any on the table,” Powell told the audience at the European Central Bank forum in Sinatra, Portugal. “It depends on how the data evolves.”
