The exchange took place as the headquarters of the Fed was still under construction
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed
- Trump claimed renovation costs were $3.1 billion, which Powell disputed, citing $2.5 billion
- Powell corrected Trump on a building added to the total, stating it was built five years ago
- Trump urged completion of the renovation and called for aggressive interest rate cuts
After criticising Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell everywhere – on social media and in front of reporters, US President Donald Trump landed at the Fed’s front door. On Thursday, the president called out Powell regarding the renovation costs of the Fed’s headquarters after which the banker corrected him – while the cameras were rolling.
In two decades, this is the first time a sitting president has visited the Federal Reserve.
The exchange took place as the headquarters of the Fed was still under construction. Both the men had hard hats on. Before the tour, Trump told reporters that the administration was “taking a look at what’s happening” at the Fed’s renovation.
President Trump confronts Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve. I like this approach. I can think of a few others in government who need to be confronted to their faces just like this! pic.twitter.com/NmoLu9VXJS
— Suburban Black Man 🇺🇸 (@niceblackdude) July 24, 2025
Trump said, “It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion”, referring to the renovation budget, to which Powell pushed back, shook his head and said, “I’m not aware of that. I haven’t heard that from anybody at the Fed.”
The Fed has maintained that renovation costs are $2.5 billion.
After that, Trump proceeded to take out a document from his jacket and handed it over to Powell. The Fed chairman took a quick look at the paperwork and handed it back saying that Trump was “adding a third building” to the total.
“It’s a building that’s being built,” Trump said, to which Powell responded, “It’s a building that was built five years ago… it’s not new.”
Trump ended his tour afterward by saying he wanted the renovation to be completed and Powell to aggressively cut benchmark interest rates. “Let’s just get it finished and, even more importantly, lower interest rates!”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Fed chair has refrained from responding to Trump’s taunts on social media, saying the Fed can afford to be patient to monitor the impact of the president’s tariffs on inflation.
The exchange followed months of criticism by Trump of Powell as being “Too Late” on rate cuts and an accompanying pressure campaign to get the central bank head to step down.
After the visit, Trump wrote on social media that the construction has “got a long way to go, would have been much better if it were never started, but it is what it is”.
Trump in the past has labelled Powell as a “stubborn mule”, “Trump hater”, “numbskull”, etc., and has repeatedly floated the idea of firing him.
