The White House found a new angle of attack on Jerome Powell: the renovation of the Fed seat. Several officials of the Trump administration point to the budget overruns. On the merits, the American president still criticizes Jerome Powell for not lowering the rates enough. And the various candidates for his succession try to position themselves.
The Trump administration is actively considering the possibility of dismissing the president of the federal reserve, Jerome Powell, relying on costs of costs linked to a vast renovation project of the institution’s headquarters in Washington, the White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on Sunday.
For several weeks, the Republicans have been based on the renovation of the Fed headquarters to accentuate their offensive against Jerome Powell. The criticism has intensified since Russell Vought denounced last week what it describes as “ostentatious renovation” of the Fed complex, a site estimated at 2.5 billion dollars. In a message published on X, he compared the project to the Palace of Versailles, evoking hanging gardens, fountains and high -end marble.
No terrace garden, but asbestos
Faced with these accusations, the Fed published on Friday a fair for the questions defending the renovation, calling it as a first complete rehabilitation of buildings since their construction in the 1930s. The site includes in particular the abolition of lead and a larger amount of asbestos than expected.
Photographs of dilapidated pipes and roofs accompany these explanations, which also highlight the impact of the increase in materials, equipment and labor costs. The institution denies the existence of VIP dining rooms or luxury elevators. The project provides for a “green roof” intended to improve rainwater management and energy efficiency, like other federal buildings, but without terrace access.
“There are no new fountains, no hives, and no terraces gardens,” said Powell before senators in June, refuting any excess in expenses.
He recognized cost overruns, but insisted on the dilapidated and non -waterproof character of the building, almost 90 years old. The Fed indicated that the renovation, which includes an adjacent building, will bring together the workforce on a single campus and reduce external rental costs. According to a report by the Fed Inspector General in February, the total cost increased from 1.9 billion to $ 2.4 billion in two years.
Grouped shot
Guest of the program “This week” on ABC, Kevin Hassett said that President Donald Trump could dismiss Powell from his functions “for valid reason” (“for cause”), if elements justify him. He notably denounced: “The most expensive project in the history of DC”. He also specified that any decision would depend on the answers provided by the Fed to the questions formulated by Russell Vought, director of the White House budget.
These words confirm that the White House explores the possibility of using the renovation project as a legal basis to rule out Powell, whose mandate expired in May 2026. Trump has repeatedly demanded the resignation of Powell, accusing him of not having dropped interest rates since his return to the presidency in January.
Also Sunday, Kevin Warsh, member of the Fed Governors’ Council from 2006 to 2011, pleaded for a “regime change” within the monetary institution, even beyond the presidency.
“The Fed was lost. She was lost in her supervision, in her monetary policy,” he said during the program Sunday Morning Futures on Fox. “It takes a change of diet at the Fed, and that does not only concern the president. It is a whole culture, a whole way of thinking and of working that it is necessary to change. We will have to shake up heads, because this system no longer works.”
Vice-president JD Vance added his voice to the criticisms, writing on X on Sunday: “The Fed has completely lost control. As President Trump says, they are too slow-as well to fight against inflation under Biden and to lower the rates today.”
Succession
It is no coincidence that criticism is mainly carried by the “two kevins”. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh are the two candidates who would hold the rope to succeed Jerome Powell.
In principle, the president of the Fed must be appointed among the members of the board – the management body, composed of 7 governors appointed for a non -renewable mandate of 14 years. A headquarters will be released in early 2026 since Adriana Kugler’s mandate will end on January 31. Donald Trump could therefore name Warsh or Hassett on this occasion, and then take the lead in the institution in May.
Jerome Powell, for his part, will still be a member of the board until January 2028. At least in theory. Questioned multiple times in recent months about his presence after May 2026, he has always refused to respond clearly.
Among the candidates, Donald Trump could also choose a current Fed governor. The names of Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman circulate. In any case, the two seem interested in the position since they have expressed themselves in recent weeks in favor of immediate rate drops.
What is certain is that the lucky ones will have to be in favor of immediate and substantial rate drops. If Donald Trump has pleaded in this sense for months, it is also to lighten the load of debt, which costs the United States “a fortune” to regain his words. “We should have the lowest interest rates of the earth,” he said yesterday from Andrews air base.