President Trump made an unusual visit to the Federal Reserve Thursday, donning a hard hat and being led on a tour of the construction site by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cap weeks of mounting criticisms over the $2.5 billion renovation project.
The two men also briefly sparred over the costs of the project as Trump claimed a new and higher price tag before Powell fact-checked him in real time before reporters.
After Trump said that the renovation cost had ballooned further to $3.1 billion, Powell shook his head no.
Trump then produced a piece of paper that Powell looked at briefly. The central banker noted that new figure added in the renovation of a third building — the William McChesney Martin building — that was finished years ago.
“You just added in a third building,” Powell said, standing alongside the president. “It’s not new.”
The two buildings under scrutiny are the Marriner Eccles building and a second building known as the Federal Reserve Board East Building with the price tag for renovations there still at $2.5 billion, according to Federal Reserve documents.
Trump aides stood by the revised numbers and said that all three buildings should now be included when talking about the price tag with Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who joined the tour, later accusing Powell of “splitting hairs.”
The high-profile construction project on the two buildings — which started in mid-2022 and is on track to be completed by 2027 — was also toured by Republican Senators Tim Scott (S.C.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.), as well as Trump’s budget director, his director of federal housing, and others.
“We’re just taking a look at what’s happening,” the president said of the overall reason for the visit, acknowledging the complexity of the multiyear renovation project and noting that he saw “a lot of very expensive work, there’s no question about it.”
Trump also did continue pressing for lower interest rates during his visit, saying that he and Powell “had a little talk about [interest rates]” and that he believes that Powell will “do the right thing.”
Trump also played down his tensions with the Fed chair as he continued to distance himself from an effort to fire Powell, saying that this visit is about helping get the project finished and “I don’t want to be personal.”
Later, Trump said of firing Powell, “To do that is a big move, and I just don’t think it’s necessary.”
Asked what might lead him to back off the barrage of critiques that Trump has been leveling against Powell for weeks, the president said, “I’d love him to lower interest rates,” before patting Powell on the back.
Trump’s high-profile visit also comes as Powell is set to gather the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week for another interest rate decision, which Trump emphasized again and again Thursday was his focus.
President Donald Trump listens as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a visit to the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) ·ASSOCIATED PRESS
But the Fed has worked to push back against the mounting pressure from Trump and apparent efforts to use questions around the construction costs to apply pressure for lower rates.
Federal Reserve staff gave reporters a tour of the building earlier in the day to underline that a significant contributor to the high price tag was security additions and to buttress their assertion that there were only two deviations from a National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) approved plan — the removal of seating on the roof of the Eccles building and the removal of plans for water fountains in front of the east building.
The central bank has defended itself against the charges of lavish spending for weeks, even publishing a page on its website devoted to the renovations.
It says the increased costs came because of increased material costs and “unforeseen conditions” like asbestos, toxic contamination in the soil, and a higher-than-expected water table.
The two buildings, Powell added in a recent note, were in need of “significant structural repairs” after not having a comprehensive renovation since they were built in the 1930s.
Trump did offer critiques of the project Thursday, saying, “I see a very luxurious situation taking place, let’s put it that way.” But he added that he didn’t want to be a Monday morning quarterback.
When pressed on whether this project could be considered a fireable offense, he said, “I don’t want to put that in this category.”
President Donald Trump, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, and Senator Tim Scott speak with a worker as he visits the Federal Reserve on July 24. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) ·ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images
In the coming weeks, Powell will also wrestle with calls from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for an “exhaustive internal review” of the Fed’s operations as well as pressure from Republicans on Capitol Hill that could ramp up in the fall.
The Fed also got another new headache Thursday when a money manager — and Trump ally who recently served as an adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency — filed a lawsuit arguing the central bank is violating a 1976 federal law by keeping its policy meetings behind closed doors.
There’s even a long-shot call for the Department of Justice to get involved and look at Powell personally.
Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, a subcommittee chair on the House Financial Services Committee, is also reportedly moving forward with a congressional investigation of the Fed according to PunchBowl News — even as many of his Senate colleagues have shied away from that idea.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, another Trump ally, formally requested that the DOJ investigate Powell for perjury over June comments about the renovations. That is seen as a long shot at best.
President Donald Trump descends a set of stairs as he tour the Federal Reserve renovation project on July 24. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ·Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson also said in an interview with Bloomberg reporters and editors this week that he is “disenchanted” with Powell and is even open to modifying the 1913 act that created the Fed.
That would be a major change, but it is not expected to come before Congress in the near term, as the House of Representatives went home Wednesday evening for a recess that is scheduled to last for the rest of the summer.
Scott — who also asked Powell about the Fed’s renovations during a June 25 hearing and was on hand Thursday — sent Powell a letter Wednesday asking for more questions to be answered by Aug. 8. He said there were “distinct differences” between public plans about the renovation, Powell’s testimony, and what the Fed has said on its website.
In any case, top Trump allies promised that they would keep the focus on the project, trying to argue that they simply wanted to keep costs under control
“We are going to continue to ask questions,” Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought said after he returned to the White House following the tour, calling this the “first site visit.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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