“That’s the third building,” Powell interrupted the president, “built five years ago.”
When a reporter asked Trump what he would do if the manager of a construction project he was in charge of exceeded the budget, he replied straightforwardly: “What would I do in general?” Trump said, “I would fire them.”
When Trump tapped Powell on the arm, Powell smiled. The president added that he “wasn’t targeting anyone personally. He just wanted to see it done.”
This scene indicated that there was little easing between the two. They almost immediately resumed their positions that had persisted for months. The bank’s renovation provided Trump and his allies with yet another weapon to intensify their criticism of Powell. They seized on the issue of cost overruns, portraying the renovation project as a wasteful and extravagant undertaking. On Thursday, Trump visited the site in person and stood side by side with the central bank governor whom he frequently attacked and humiliated on social media.
However, at the end of the tour, when Trump was asked if he saw evidence of mismanagement and waste, he ultimately disagreed. Although he said he saw “very luxurious scenes”, the president acknowledged that he understood the need for security measures and basement construction brought high costs.
This real estate tycoon often boasts about his experience supervising large-scale construction projects in his hometown of New York, and claims that he has taken on projects larger than the Fed’s work in the past, and with costs under control. But he says that he believes cost overruns alone are not a sufficient reason to fire Powell.
The president has also repeatedly refocused his attention on the central bank’s interest rate setting policy. “I just want to see one thing happen, and it’s very simple: interest rates must come down,” he said. “You know, his term is almost up. I think he’ll do the right thing. Everyone knows what the right thing is,” he added.
More broadly, Trump said he had a “good meeting” with Powell but refused to disclose what they discussed privately about interest rates, hinting that the Fed is currently in a quiet period ahead of its meeting next week.
It is widely expected that Fed officials will keep interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time after their meeting next week. According to the forecast released in June, most policymakers expect at least two rate cuts by the end of the year. But Powell and several other officials have indicated that they prefer to be cautious about policy adjustments because they are concerned that Trump’s tariff policies could lead to sustained inflation. Policymakers also said that the overall stable labor market gives them room to be patient in cutting rates.
Despite Trump’s pressure on him to consult lawmakers on whether to fire Powell and his occasional insistence that he had no such plan, Powell did not indicate that he was considering leaving early, and even did not rule out the possibility of remaining a board member after his term as chair ends in May.
Trump’s entourage included some of the administration’s most vocal critics of Powell, including Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte, who accused Powell of misleading Congress on the renovation issue and demanded his resignation. Also present was budget director Russ Vought.
After the visit, Walter told reporters that the tour gave government officials a deeper understanding of the renovation work, but there were still some questions that remained unanswered. Walter said that some of the work could have been done better and that the renovation work must be cost-controlled.
Powell said reports about the renovation work were inaccurate and, after weeks of intensifying criticism from Republicans, asked the bank’s inspector general to review the restoration work.
Earlier on Thursday, Federal Reserve staff led reporters on a tour of the construction site, which is said to have about 700 to 800 workers in two shifts every day. Officials said that part of the reason for the cost overrun is safety requirements, including blast-resistant windows. Nevertheless, the overall budget for the project has risen from $1.9 billion in recent years to $2.5 billion in 2025, raising questions about the overrun.
After returning to the White House, Trump posted on social media that the renovation project “would have been much better if it had never started, but now that it’s underway, I hope it can be completed as soon as possible,” and then he again touched upon the issue of interest rates.
