President Trump announced he is considering a potential lawsuit against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, citing the cost overruns on the $2.5 billion renovation project at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC.
In a Truth Social post, Trump declared: “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate. Steve ‘Manouychin’ really gave me a ‘beauty’ when he pushed this loser. The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we’ve blown through Powell and the complacent Board. I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings. Three Billion Dollars for a job that should have been a $50 Million Dollar fix up. Not good!”
Trump and members of his administration, most notably Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, have been trying to frame the cost overruns at the Fed headquarters as a scandal that could be leveraged for firing Powell. Trump toured the construction site with Powell last month and insisted the costs were $3.1 billion. When Powell disputed the higher price, Trump pulled out a paper from his jacket and showed it to Powell, who noted the elevated price resulted in Trump attaching the costs of the Martin Building, a different Fed office property that was renovated five years ago and was not part of the ongoing project.
Powel and the Fed did not publicly comment on Trump’s remarks.
