President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell publicly clashed Thursday during an unusual presidential visit to the central bank’s headquarters, where they disputed the cost of an ongoing renovation project.
The confrontation occurred as Trump toured a construction site at the Fed, the latest move in his sustained pressure campaign to compel Powell to lower interest rates. During the tour, both men wore hard hats as they approached reporters. Trump asserted that renovation costs for two historic Fed buildings had surpassed $3.1 billion.
Powell immediately contradicted the president, stating, “I haven’t heard that from anybody.” He explained that Trump’s figure likely included the cost of a third government building that was completed five years ago.
In response to a reporter’s question about what Powell could do to end the criticism, Trump was direct: “Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates.”
The president has relentlessly criticized Powell—whom he appointed in 2017—for keeping interest rates steady this year, claiming rate cuts would save the U.S. hundreds of billions on its debt interest payments, which exceeded $1.1 trillion in 2024.
Despite the public friction, Trump appeared to retreat from earlier suggestions that he might take the legally contested step of firing the Fed chairman. “To do that is a big move, and I just don’t think it’s necessary,” Trump told reporters later, adding, “I believe that he’s going to do the right thing.”
Trump’s visit, a rare event for a sitting president, was attended by administration officials and Republican Senators Tim Scott and Thom Tillis. Also present was Bill Pulte, a vocal critic of Powell who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and had called for the chairman’s resignation earlier that day.
The tour highlights the administration’s recent focus on the Fed’s multibillion-dollar renovation. Earlier this month, OMB Director Russ Vought accused Powell of having “grossly mismanaged the Fed” while questioning the “ostentatious” construction. Similarly, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently called for a comprehensive review of the central bank’s operations under Powell.
No previous presidential visit to the Federal Reserve has occurred while the president was openly demanding changes to monetary policy or publicly scrutinizing the chairman’s conduct.
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