Trump Demands Powell Resign Over $2.4 Billion Fed Renovation Project
US President Donald Trump has called for former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign from the central bank's Board of Governors due to controversy surrounding the $2.4 billion renovation of the Fed's Washington headquarters.
The project, initially estimated at $1.3 billion in 2020, saw a significant cost increase. An internal watchdog report found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or administrative misconduct, but highlighted management failures and rising costs as contributing factors to the project's expense.
Tedious design changes, site conditions, and inflation were also cited by the Office of Inspector General as contributing to the increased costs.
The Fed has said that the cost of the renovation was largely due to the challenges of building in a previously undeveloped area near the Tidal Basin along the Potomac River.