Fortsetter angrepene på Powell

The U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on Wednesday evening regarding budget overruns associated with the Federal Reserve building renovation project. The audit highlighted deficiencies but did not identify any administrative misconduct or grounds for criminal prosecution. Former President Donald Trump condemned the project on social media, claiming Jerome Powell should be forced to resign immediately, stating that the Federal Reserve chair should be "removed at the earliest opportunity" for either "corruption" or "incompetence."

Powell serves on the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) until 2028. If Powell remains in office, Trump believes he should be "sued at the highest level of the American state" for either "corruption" or "incompetence." The Federal Reserve building renovation project cost more than $1.317 billion in February 2020, rising to $2.381 billion by December 2024, according to the OIG.

The audit was approved by the Fed's board. In January 2026, the U.S. Justice Department opened criminal investigation into a witness statement Powell provided to Congress in the summer of 2025. The OIG noted that "multiple factors" contributed to the cost overruns, including inflation, limited competition, significant design changes, and site conditions.

The audit issued seven recommendations to address the identified problems, stating that "some could have been prevented with better project management and contract management." Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who also serves as Fed's chief, agreed with the OIG's findings and recommendations, and the board has committed to following up.

In January, an investigation was opened into Powell, who stated he received instructions from a grand jury. Powell claimed the investigation did not relate to his congressional testimony or the renovation of the Federal Reserve building, but must be considered in conjunction with Trump's pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates.

Powell argued that the decision to set interest rates is based on the Fed's best judgment of what will benefit the public, rather than the president's preferences. A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit in March, agreeing with Powell that it was an attempt to pressure the Fed chair to lower interest rates, or to force him to resign.

Trump had been making repeated allegations that Powell should lower interest rates and had called him "stupid" and "destructive," a "dead duck," and investigated whether it was possible to fire him.