Powell pressure campaign ramps up

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell went back and forth in front of the press Thursday over Trump’s claims about cost overruns at the Fed headquarters in Washington.

The stunning side-by-side took place as Trump began a rare tour of the Fed building, in what was widely seen as the latest chapter in his pressure campaign to get Powell to lower interest rates or resign as the central bank chairman.

But Trump also suggested that he was abandoning any consideration of firing Powell, despite floating that unprecedented and legally contested idea earlier this month.

“To do that is a big move, and I just don’t think it’s necessary,” Trump told reporters after his brief spat with Powell.

He added, “I believe that he’s going to do the right thing.”

The president’s visit to a construction site at the Fed on Thursday afternoon came as his administration has recently homed in on the costly renovations of two historic central bank buildings in D.C.

Shortly after his arrival, Trump and Powell were seen touring the site together, both wearing white hard hats.

They approached reporters there, and Trump asserted that construction costs for the ongoing renovation of the two Fed buildings have topped $3.1 billion.

“I haven’t heard that from anybody,” Powell replied.

He said Trump was adding in the costs for a third government building, which was “built five years ago.”

Trump responded, “So we’re going to take a look. We’re going to see what’s happening, and it’s got a long way.”

When a reporter asked if Powell could say anything that get Trump to back off his criticism, the president said, “Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates.”

Trump struck a more conciliatory tone later Thursday, writing on Truth Social that it was a “Great Honor” to tour the site with Powell.

“It’s got a long way to go, would have been much better if it were never started, but it is what it is and, hopefully, it will be finished ASAP,” he wrote.

“The cost overruns are substantial but, on the positive side, our Country is doing very well and can afford just about anything — Even the cost of this building!”

Trump said before arriving that he would be joined by Republican Sens. Tim Scott and Thom Tillis, as well as a handful of administration officials including Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte.

Pulte is one of Powell’s harshest critics and has been one of the Trump administration’s most vocal advocates calling for him to be replaced.

“Jerome Powell must resign,” Pulte wrote on X earlier Thursday.

Trump is demanding that Powell immediately lower the benchmark interest rate, while berating him with accusations of incompetence and political bias — even though it was Trump who originally nominated Powell for the role in 2017.

The key interest rate sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending, but also spills over into multiple consumer products.

The Fed lopped a full percentage point off that rate in the back half of 2024, taking it to a range of 4.25%-4.5%. But it has kept the rates steady since December — infuriating Trump, who claims that slashing rates will save the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars in interest costs.

Interest payments on U.S. debt topped $1.1 trillion in 2024.

Markets largely believe that the central bank will stay on hold when it meets next week, but that it will likely cut rates in September and once more before the end of the year.

Trump has tried to brand Powell with the nickname “Too Late.” And last week, he asked a room full of House Republicans if they thought he should fire the Fed chair.

But Trump later backed off, saying it was “highly unlikely” that he would terminate Powell, “unless he has to leave for fraud.”

It is unclear whether the president has the authority to fire a Fed chairman. The Supreme Court recently indicated in a ruling that the central bank’s independence is protected by legal precedent.

But Trump and his administration have kept up the pressure, most recently by targeting costs related to a yearslong, multibillion-dollar renovation of two historic Fed buildings in Washington, D.C.

Trump’s budget chief, Russ Vought, earlier this month alleged that Powell “has grossly mismanaged the Fed” as he questioned the “ostentatious” construction project.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is seen as a possible contender to replace Powell, said Monday on CNBC that the Fed under Powell requires a comprehensive review.

It’s rare for a sitting president to show up at the Fed: Trump’s is only the fourth such visit since 1937, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the building.

And no prior appearance took place as the president was openly urging changes in monetary policy or threatening to investigate the Fed chair’s conduct.

The visit is also taking place as Trump seeks to divert attention from a growing controversy over his administration’s handling of yet-undisclosed files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.