Trump Demands Powell Resign Over Fed Renovation Cost Overruns

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign from the Fed’s Board of Governors following an Inspector General report detailing major cost overruns in the central bank’s headquarters renovation project.

The renovation of two historic Federal Reserve buildings on the National Mall in Washington is now estimated to cost about $2.4 billion, roughly $1 billion above the original budget. The Inspector General identified shortcomings in project oversight but said its review found no evidence of criminal violations or administrative misconduct.

Trump said Powell should be forced to step down from the Fed Board and asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to examine the Inspector General’s findings and determine whether further action should be taken over the renovation project.

According to the report, the Federal Reserve Board did not obtain a project cost estimate from its construction manager until January 2026, about three and a half years after construction began. By that point, the Board had already awarded more than $2 billion in construction costs.

The report also said that as of July 2026, more than four years after work started, the Fed Board had still not established a guaranteed maximum price for the project.

Trump argued that renovation costs could ultimately climb to between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. He also claimed he could have completed the work for $25 million while preserving the historic buildings’ original features.

Despite concerns over the project's management and rising expenses, the Inspector General said there were no reasonable grounds to conclude that federal criminal law had been violated.

The report instead highlighted deficiencies in how the Federal Reserve managed the headquarters renovation and issued recommendations aimed at improving oversight and addressing project risks. It did not identify administrative misconduct connected to the cost overruns.