Washington
CNN
—
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked the central bank’s inspector general to formally review an ongoing $2.5 billion renovation of the institution’s headquarters in Washington, DC, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Powell made the request “a few weeks ago,” the source said.
At a congressional hearing last month, Powell was grilled by Senate lawmakers over what they depicted as lavish upgrades to the Fed’s headquarters. Powell said some of those upgrades, such as Italian beehives, are not part of the renovation. Since then, the Fed head has been under fire by top Trump officials, with some accusing him of lying under oath.
“The Federal Reserve’s Inspector General is considering opening an investigation into the massive cost overruns for their $2.5B+ HQ renovation project,” wrote James Blair, a White House deputy chief of staff, on Monday on X.
Blair is one of three Trump loyalists appointed last week to the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s central planning agency for the region, which has an oversight role in the Fed’s renovation project.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
