Fed Watchdog Clears Powell in Renovation Project Probe

The Federal Reserve's renovation project has been marred by controversy and cost overruns, but an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by Jerome Powell or any other Fed officials.

The Inspector General report highlighted extensive problems with project oversight that contributed to a roughly $1 billion cost overrun for the renovation of the central bank's two historic buildings on the National Mall in Washington.

The project, which now has a price tag of about $2.4 billion, was criticized by President Donald Trump and his allies, who suggested wasteful spending had ballooned the budget to hundreds of millions of dollars more than earlier estimated.

Powell countered that the extra costs reflected unexpected challenges, such as asbestos abatement and higher-than-estimated prices for materials and labor as the construction went deep underground.