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The White House has accused Jay Powell of “grossly” mismanaging an “ostentatious” refurbishment of the Federal Reserve’s Washington headquarters, opening a new front of attack in the White House’s battle with the US central bank.
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a post on X that Powell, the Fed chair, had “grossly mismanaged the Fed”, accusing the central bank chief of presiding over a renovation of its headquarters that was now $700mn over budget.
In the letter that formed part of the X post, the Trump ally said: “The President is extremely troubled by your management of the Federal Reserve System. Instead of attempting to right the Fed’s fiscal ship, you have plowed ahead with an ostentatious overhaul of your Washington DC headquarters.”
Vought’s criticism over the refurbishment of the Marriner Eccles Building, which he claimed was at $2.5bn costing almost as much of the Palace of Versailles in current dollars, marks a fresh tactic in the Trump administration’s battle with the bank.
President Donald Trump launches almost daily attacks on the Fed over its rates policy, labelling Powell a “stubborn mule” and a “numbskull” for the central bank’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 4.25-4.5 per cent since the turn of the year.
The Fed says it cannot cut rates further until it has more evidence of how Trump’s trade war will affect US inflation.
Trump has also repeatedly accused the Fed of costing the US government hundreds of billions of dollars in higher refinancing costs.
Republican members of Congress have attacked the Fed over the cost of the refurbishment, with Senate banking committee chair Tim Scott saying features such as private dining rooms and ornate water features appeared out of touch when ordinary Americans were struggling.
Billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk also highlighted the cost of the rebuild, which began in 2021, during his time as the head of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
But Vought’s remarks mark the first direct attack from a close ally of Trump.
Powell has described media reports regarding the excesses of the rebuild as “inaccurate” and claimed in congressional hearings that many of the features laid out in the original plans — including special elevators, beehives and roof terraces — had been scrapped.
Bill Pulte, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, claimed Powell’s congressional testimony was misleading and called for him to resign in comments reposted by the president, who echoed Pulte’s call for the Fed chair to quit ahead of the end of his second term in May 2026.
In the letter attached to his X post, Vought said Powell’s testimony raised “serious questions about the project’s compliance with the National Capital Planning Act” as the Fed chair’s remarks implied the project was now out of compliance with the plan approved by the National Capital Planning Commission.
Vought called on Powell to respond to a number of questions raised in the letter within seven business days.
The Fed declined to comment.
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