Trump Says Powell Should Quit Fed Board Immediately Over Headquarters Renovation Cost Overruns

President Donald Trump called on former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign from the Fed’s Board of Governors, citing soaring costs for the central bank’s headquarters renovation project.

Bloomberg reported on October 30 that Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the renovation had exceeded its budget by a record amount and argued that Powell should leave the Fed board. Powell’s term as chair ended in May, but he has remained a governor. His term on the board runs through January 2028.

Trump’s remarks followed the release that day of an investigation by the Fed’s Office of Inspector General. The watchdog said it found no reasonable basis to suspect a violation of federal criminal law in the $2.4 billion headquarters renovation project and identified no administrative wrongdoing.

It did, however, flag a series of problems in the way the project was managed. The renovation was initially projected in 2020 to cost $1.3 billion, but that figure later swelled to $2.4 billion. The inspector general said the Fed board did not respond appropriately to cost overruns in earlier construction work and failed to carry out a recommendation to set a cost ceiling. It also cited the board’s failure to require a separate cost estimate.

The report also found that a guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, had still not been set as of July, more than four years after the project began and after bidding had been completed. The inspector general said costs rose sharply in some areas because of a lack of bidders. It also said the Fed lacked sufficient internal governance to manage the project’s scale and complexity. Design changes, site conditions and inflation were also cited as drivers of the increase.

Trump said he had directed Attorney General Todd Blanche to review the inspector general’s report and determine next steps. He added that Powell should resign immediately and that, if he does not, the U.S. government should consider litigation. The inspector general’s report, however, did not provide grounds for criminal charges against Powell over the renovation project.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said he would accept the inspector general’s recommendations. The General Services Administration, which supports management of federal buildings, will oversee execution of the project and complete the work with the Fed. The Fed also plans to appoint an independent auditing firm to review overall costs awarded so far.

Members of the Fed’s Board of Governors are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Under the Federal Reserve Act, a president may remove a Fed governor only for cause, putting the focus on what steps may come next over Powell’s board seat.