US Fed watchdog finds no criminal wrongdoing in Powell-era renovation costs

Trump said former Fed chair Jerome Powell should resign anyway.

Federal Reserve Board Governor and former chair, Jerome Powell, speaks after receiving the 2026 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts [Brian Snyder/Reuters]

The Federal Reserve’s inspector general has found no grounds for a criminal referral or evidence of administrative misconduct tied to a costly United States central bank renovation project that became a focal point of President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The watchdog released its findings on Wednesday after reviewing the renovation of two venerable Fed buildings in Washington, DC. The project has run roughly $1bn over budget, bringing its estimated cost to about $2.4bn.

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“At no point during our evaluation did we find reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of federal criminal law had occurred requiring a referral to the US attorney general,” the inspector general said.

Trump repeatedly used the renovation costs to attack Powell during his time as Fed chief. The president had consistently pressured Powell to lower interest rates.

A US Department of Justice investigation into the project and Powell’s congressional testimony was closed earlier this year after a federal judge agreed with Powell that they were a pretext for pressuring the Fed chief to lower interest rates.

This most recent watchdog report has identified significant shortcomings in the Fed’s management of the project, including its failure to establish an intended “guaranteed maximum price” that would have shifted responsibility for cost overruns to the contractor.

It also found that design features criticised by the White House, including marble, water features and a garden terrace, “did not materially contribute” to the overruns.

Cost overruns on government projects are common, with Trump’s budget for White House ballroom construction having doubled from initial estimates.

Trump took to social media Wednesday afternoon and called on Powell to resign.

“He can’t manage a Building, and he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to manage his High Interest Rate Policy,” Trump wrote, adding, “If he doesn’t resign, he should be sued, at the highest level.”

特朗普表示，美联储前主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔无论如何都应该辞职。

美国联邦储备委员会理事兼前主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔在马萨诸塞州波士顿的约翰·F·肯尼迪总统图书馆暨博物馆接受2026年约翰·F·肯尼迪勇气奖后发表讲话。[布莱恩·斯奈德/路透社]

美联储监察长没有发现任何理由将此事移交刑事调查，也没有发现任何与耗资巨大的美国中央银行改造项目有关的行政不当行为的证据。该项目曾是唐纳德·特朗普总统向美联储前主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔施压的焦点。

监管机构周三公布了对华盛顿特区两座历史悠久的联邦储备银行大楼翻修工程的审查结果。该项目超支约10亿美元，预计总成本约为24亿美元。

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监察长表示：“在我们的评估过程中，我们始终没有发现任何合理的理由相信发生了违反联邦刑法的行为，需要将案件移交给美国司法部长。”

特朗普在鲍威尔担任美联储主席期间，曾多次利用翻新费用攻击鲍威尔。总统一直向鲍威尔施压，要求其降低利率。

今年早些时候，美国司法部对该项目和鲍威尔在国会的证词展开调查，但随后一名联邦法官同意鲍威尔的说法，认为这些调查是向美联储主席施压以降低利率的借口。

这份最新的监督报告指出，美联储在项目管理方面存在重大缺陷，包括未能制定预期的“保证最高价格”，从而将成本超支的责任转移给承包商。

调查还发现，白宫批评的设计特色，包括大理石、水景和花园露台，“并没有对超支产生实质性影响”。

政府项目成本超支的情况很常见，特朗普为白宫宴会厅建设制定的预算比最初的估计翻了一番。

周三下午，特朗普在社交媒体上呼吁鲍威尔辞职。

“他连一栋大楼都管理不好，当然更不应该让他来管理他的高利率政策，”特朗普写道，“如果他不辞职，就应该被起诉，而且是最高级别的诉讼。”